


Amefuto isn't just for Boys

by GaleDragon



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Fem!Harao, Fem!Hiruma, Fem!Ichirou, Fem!Jou, Genderbending, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 80,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25842322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaleDragon/pseuds/GaleDragon
Summary: Amefuto's a tough sport, not really something girls would play, right? WRONG! What if some of the amefuto players in Eyeshield 21 were girls instead of boys. Lets find out and let the chaos start. Important notes: rating may change due to Hiruma's mouth, and THIS IS NOT A FEM!SENA FANFICTION.
Relationships: Banba Mamoru/Harao Kiminari, Hiruma Youichi/Kobayakawa Sena, Seijuro Shin/Takami Ichirou (one-sided)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. 1st Down: The Man with the Golden Legs and the Devil

**Author's Note:**

> Same as my Account on FF.net.

1st Down: The Man with the Golden Legs and the Devil

~}i{~

What if some of the characters in Eyeshield 21 were girls instead of boys. And on that major note, THIS IS NOT A FEM!SENA STORY. Honestly, I really hate gender bender stories that involve every male character falling for the character that the author changed into a girl. So I decided to make a gender bender story that isn't like that. I'm going to be following the manga storyline mainly, alright. I did make some major things about some of the characters, other than their gender. Anyway, Enjoy.

~}i{~

""Amefuto is won with… Power… Tactics… and also…"" A short male teen with spiky brown hair and wearing a navy blue uniform sped past pedestrians. The teen skidded to a stop in front of a school called Deimon High, nearly out of breath. ""Speed.""

The brunette looked at a card with an address and a number and looked at the school building. "Sena," shouted a female voice, that got caught the brown-haired teen's attention, apparently his name was Sena. A young lady (I am aware of her name, but I am trying to follow the manga and I will reveal the characters names as they do in the manga) in her senior year, wearing a green sweater, blue jeans, a long pink scarf, had autumn pink hair and eyes waved at the boy stating "Over here, over here." Both of them headed to a billboard covered in rows of numbers. The young lady asked Sena what his number was, Sena replied timidly "…021," rather nervously. Sena turned to leave and stated "I defiantly failed! I'm going home!" But the other teen grabbed ahold of Sena's collar before he could take another step, dragged him in front of the billboard, and looked for the number 021. Sena was practically sweating.

Number 021 was on the board, right in-between numbers 020 and 023. "It's there! Number 021 is there!" the young lady stated happily jumped and pointing at the board. Sena couldn't believe his eyes, he dropped his card, and tears of joy streaked down his cheeks "I did it!" The auburn-haired girl ruffled Sena's hair and said with glee "Good job Sena! You did well!"

"Ah-! I guess I should be happy now that I'm a 10th grader…" Sena said as he fixed his hair. The young lady next to Sena happily elbowed him in the shoulder and stated "You were a total mess in Math and English though… But Mamori-sensei's favourite!" And then she added, "Sena, you're already a high school student." Sena smiled and said, "Yeah, ever since grade school." Flashbacks of memories filled Sena's mind, particularly of memories of him and the young lady as young, apparently, her name is Mamori, children. One of little Sena sitting on the ground with his backpack on the ground with its contents spilt out and a child version of Mamori next to him chasing away three bullies with a wooden sword. The other memory was little Mamori carrying little Sena on her back. Sena snapped out of his memories when the brunette elbowed him a little too hard when she said "Well aren't you lucky! To be walking around with a beautiful girl you've known since childhood in the same school!" Sena rubbed his arm as Mamori said with a tear in her eye "Sena…" Sena looked at the brunette as she continually repeated the word con, three times. The brunette quickly stated, "Oh yeah, I have to take care of something in the school's administration office!" As she headed off towards the school, but before Sena could stop her, she was already gone.

Sena did not notice a shadow peering behind a nearby wall corner. A tall thin young man in his final years of high school with long, spiky blond hair, pointed ears with two piercings on each one, razor-sharp teeth that showed when he grinned, sharp beady eyes, and was wearing a red Amefuto jersey with the number one on it in white. Behind the blonde was a person with a bigger build wearing a red Amefuto jersey with the number 77 in white and was wearing a black amefuto helmet with red wings. The blonde cackled "Hehe… Candidate discovery successful." (1)

Sena looked at the ground and thought 'Mamori-neechan… Why was she crying?' The sound of running caught the newly enrolled high school student's attention. When Sena turned to the sound he saw a blond with pointy features in an Amefuto uniform and a really big person in of Amefuto jersey with the number 77 running towards him. The only thing the brunette did was state, "AAAHH! WHAT THE!?" Before Sena knew it he was being tossed in the air by the two Amefuto players. Both of them cheering "Congratulations on your success!" The blonde shouted a Ya~Ha. The bigger-bodied teen's amefuto helmet fell off the feeling is very round face and black hair. As Sena was being tossed up and down he thought 'Ah~~~~ This is the first time in my life I've been tossed into the air like this~!' It actually wasn't a bad feeling. The two amefuto players put Sena down. The blonde pulled out a cell phone from his pocket, opened it, and handed it to Sena and said with an eerie smile "Here, go tell the news of your success to your parents." Sena took the cell phone, looked at it quizzically and asked, "Um, I can use this too?" The blonde smiled and stated, "Of course."

Sena sat down on a nearby bench typing in his home phone on the cell phone and thinking 'It's so nice to have a kind sempai at the school,' completely unaware that the blonde now had a menacing smile and that the bigger-bodied teen next to him had a face that said I-can't-believe-were-actually-doing-this. When Sena finished typing in his phone number, he put the cell phone to his ear and said "Mom? Answer the ph…" Before Sena could even finish the sentence the blonde snatched the cell phone out of his hands and him and his cohort raced off, leaving Sena in utter confusion.

The blonde and the black-haired amefuto players ran back around the corner they came out of. The bigger build boy panted looking around the corner to make sure that the new student didn't follow while the blonde looked at the cell phone with the numbers still on the screen and stated, "Get telephone number…" The blonde quickly pulled out a huge number of flyers and four other cell phones. The blonde quickly typed in numbers on all fours cell phones, each one calling a different takeout place. Sushi, pizza, bento, and Chinese delivery. All four takeout places asked for the caller's number, in which the blonde replied the number that was on the cell phone he had given the new student to use. The blonde hung up and toss the cells when two of the take-outs stated thank you immediately and stayed on the line when the other two gave the blog what he needed to know. The blonde quickly wrote in a white notebook and stated in a creepy tone "Name and address retrieved." The tubby amefuto player sweatdropped and muttered, "Some people just do terrible things…" Once the blonde was done he stated to the brunette "Hurry up and get ready for the next one, Fatass!" As he pointed at another student who passes the entrance exam. The bigger player quickly said okay, and they both went and did the same thing with that new student.

Later in the day, Mamori walked Sena to his house and was now heading towards hers. She said to Sena as they both waved goodbye to each other "Bye! See you at the opening ceremony." When Sena walked up to his house he noticed that the mailbox was overstuffed with flyers to join the Amefuto club. Sena looked at them wondering who would put them in his mailbox. He carried all the flyers into his home, the moment because the door of the house phone started to ring. Sena somehow managed to answer the phone with all the flyers still in his arms. Apparently whatever was on the other side of the line was the recording of someone saying "Yaha! Amefuto! Power, Speed, Tactics! The Three Things Needed to Be the Strongest in This Battle of a Sport! Come and Be a Part of It! Join Now!" Sena started to cry as the recording repeated itself. Sena practically shouted "AH! Why me~~~!? Sena's mom walked in the door with her arms full of the same flyers and said, "It's never-ending…" Outside to shadows, one thin and tall the other round in large, ran from door to door placing flyers in the mailboxes.

The next day. When Sena finished tying his tie he looked in the mirror. The sea green and blue uniform was a size too big for him. Sena listened to Mamori's suggestion to get the uniform in bigger size; she said he would grow into it. "Can't do much about it," Sena thought with a sigh. Sena remembered the cell phone that he left on his desk, so he walked over to grab it and stated "Oh yeah, I have to bring this with me! Had to get one after the trouble with the admission ceremony," remembering the weird incident with the tall blonde teenage boy. As Sena held up the cell phone he stated "Uwa, so adult-like," with a smile. The smile disappeared when he realized that he only had Mamori's number in his phone book. As Sena's crestfallen eyes looked at the cell phone he thought 'Well… I have to start somewhere… I only have Mamori-neechan in my phone book for now.' He pressed the button on his cell phone to see what time it was. It was time to start his first day of high school.

As Sena walked to school he ran into Mamori, who said "Sena! Good morning." Mamori noticed that Sena's necktie was crooked. She quickly put her hands on the tie to straighten it out as she said "Hey, let me fix this." The startled Sena a little bit. After Mamori was done with Sena's tie she said, "Sena, I want you to mix in with the right people this year." Sena replied, though somewhat nervously "I… I already have friends!" Memories of Sena's years through grade and middle school or that of him running errands and hauling backpacks for the other students. Mamori knew what he was talking about and stated plainly "Those guys aren't your friends. They use you like a button man and a pashiri (2)!" When they got to the front gate entrance of the school Mamori noticed that a lot of clubs were gathering and said "Ahh, well there's a lively gathering," with a smile. She patted Sena on the back, a little too hard, and said "It's time for you to make your move. Go ahead and join the club." Sena frowned and stated, "You don't have to tell me, I'm not a kid anymore."

Mamori suddenly remembered something VERY important and quickly stated, "But, there is one person you must avoid!" Once she made sure that Sena was listening, she explained "His name is Hiruma, and he is the most devilish human being…! They say when you look into his eyes you will be reduced to nothing but bone." This got the image of a giant bulking monster with evil eyes into Sena's head. He gulped and thought 'Can't… Can't forget this! What was his name again…?!' Then Sena said out loud "Hiruma?" The moment that name left his lips, all the students that just happen to be nearby, were frozen with fear. One of the nearby female students dropped her backpack and shrieked, one student frantically looked around and shouted in a panic "WHERE?! WHERE IS HIRUMA?!" While a male student ran away, covering his ears in a panic shouting "WHERE IS HE?! WHERE?! Sena only watched in confusion as if for now slow and into a panic. Suddenly, one of the students grabbed Sena's arms and cried in a panic "My life is in danger! He is COMING!" Then he raced off screaming. Sena thought that it be a great idea to avoid this Hiruma person.

Inside the school after class has ended. Sena wondered out loud which club he should join. At the moment he was looking at a flyer for the Tea Life Club. An image of Sena in traditional garb taking part in a tea ceremony popped into Sena's head and Mamori standing next to him saying "You're taking part in a tea ceremony? How cute!" Sena frowned and thought 'Neechan would definitely say something like that.' His cell phone suddenly started buzzing, stating that it has received a text. The text reads 'Hey boy, pay up the Janken bet. Tell us what you're gonna get it to us.' After Sena finished reading the text he thought 'Just like what Mamori- nee-chan said… Really… I'm not a kid anymore…' As he pressed a button on his cell phone.

Sena went behind the school building and there were three upperclassmen. The brunette male was leaning against the wall, the one with short blonde hair was sitting on a trashcan, and the one with spiked blonde hair that was kind of shaped like the letter W and was wearing red sunglasses was sitting on the floor reading a manga, all three of them were smoking cigarettes (3). The one sitting on the trash bin took his cigarette out of his mouth and said "Sena, did you bring us what we told you to get?" Sena looked like he had the crossed expression of nervousness and fear when he stuttered "Um… That…b..bet…" The three bullies stated one after the other. First, the one with the red sunglasses stated "Huh?" Then, the one sitting on the trashcan and stated "Wha?!" And lastly, the one that was leaning against the wall shouted "WHA?!" Sena was completely terrified when the bully reading the manga stated, "You have five minutes." Said the bully that was leaning against the wall stated, "Don't be late." The freshman raced off in fear.

Running by everyone he passed in the hallway, only leaving though rushing wind as an indicator that he was there as the thought 'Why_?' The students in the hallway looked in the direction the wind was headed for only a few seconds before the wind rushed in the other direction when Sena raced by thinking 'Why does this always happen to me~~~!?' When Sena got back to the alley he stated plainly to the three "They were sold out…". First, the one with reading the manga stated "Huh?" Then, the one sitting on the trashcan and stated "Wha?!" The brunette bully kicked Sena against the wall and stated "You know what happens next, right?! Then you sure penalty, dumbass." The bully with the red sunglasses dropped his manga and said, "They have it in the school store." The blonde bully elbow the brunette bully and stated "Hold on, this isn't the place to do this," he pointed to a storage unit nearby and added, "That one down small storage room should do." The three drag Sena to the shack as he practically shouted "AhHhH! I'm telling the truth! It was all sold out! I've been your pashiri since kindergarten! I promise I'll be faster!" The brunette slid the door to the shack opens without as much as a glance at Sena.

It was a complete mess inside the shack; papers, bags, and amefuto balls were scattered all over the floor, while the tabletops of the desks that were there were covered with more papers, so a tea kettle, and a TV with some VHSs. Sena saw the black and red helmet and thought 'The Amefuto club…' The blonde toss Sena into a pile of papers while red glasses stated, "Heh, so this is the Amefuto club." The brunette tried on a chest protector and a helmet and stated, "Yo, check me out." Red glasses chuckled "Haha, suit you well." Unbeknownst to the four in the shack, a rounded student, the one that was tossing Sena into the air the other day (5), was humming happily as he made his way towards the shack. He slid open the door revealing the three bullies falling around with the amefuto gear and Sena sitting on the ground in terror. When the tubby student saw the four, he admitted an aura as he said "You guys… Could it be…?" He pointed to the four and stated, "That you guys want to join the club!?" The one with the red sunglasses stated "Huh?" Then, the blonde stated "Wha?!" And lastly, the brunette shouted "WHA?!" The blonde wages hand and stated "Hey, just knock him out. Hit him on the right or something." Red glasses added "C'mon! Tackle him! Give it all you got!" The brunette did so expecting the heavier set student to move. The big guy didn't move.

The brunette tried to push the bigger student over to no avail. The big guy looked at the brunette and said "Huh? Oh, you guys want to do their tryouts now?" Frustrated the blonde and red glasses joined the brunette in the tackling, but to no avail. The big guy still did not move. The big guy smiled happily and said "Ah, you guys want to be linemen! Remember, when you're blocking, you push with the palm of your hand. Like this!" Flames lit up in the big guy's eyes and he practically threw the three bullies out of the shack as he did his demonstration and he said "This is how it's done!" The three bullies landed very awkwardly when they hit the ground. Realizing what he had done, the big guy tried to run to the three and shouted "Hya! Oh no! Are you guys are right?!" The three bullies ditched the amefuto gear and hightailed it. The big guy quite as he gathered up the discarded gear and went back to the shack. "Oh… And that was the first time we had new recruits…" He said sadly. The big guy finally noticed that Sena was still in the club room. That was when the big guy's tears of sadness turned to tears of joy.

The big guy sat Sena into a chair, pushed it up against a dirty table and said "Here You Go. Don't mind these, sit here," easily brushed the garbage off the table with one hand. The big guy walked over to another table that had a kettle and asked Sena "Want Some tea? Coffee?" Sena stuttered an "Oh! No, no. That's okay…!" He slouched and added "Um… You see… I'm not here to be a new recruit…" The big guy was in despair when he placed two cups of tea and two slices of cake and said "Ahh… No… It's okay… I don't mind… I don't mind…Uwaaah… Want some tea…?" Sena was starting to regret saying what he said as he thought 'He's taking this a little too seriously.'

A couple of minutes later, the big guy was back to his usual chipper self as he asked Sena how many sugar cubes he wanted as he was practically pouring the entire sugar cube jar into his cup of tea. Sena answered with an "Ahh… One would be fine." As Sena sipped his tea he looked around the club room and thought 'Sports club, eh? Not for me at all. Seems pretty cool but it's impossible for me… I can't even do dodgeball as a sport.' Sena and the big guy took a bite out of each of their respective cake slices. The big I said, "Even after all that, was still left with only two members, and the tryouts are coming up too…" Sena asked, "You can't play rugby with only two people?" The big guy quickly corrected set up by saying "You can't just have two people, and it's not rugby, it is Amefuto. You need to have at least 11 people to play a game. When sports meet comes, we need to have enough members to save the club." The big guy took a VHS out of a drawer and said "Here is a clip of last year's game. What did you'll see that Amefuto is fun!" When the big I hit the play button on the TV, images of men wearing amefuto jerseys tackling each other appeared. A voice from the TV was saying that one of the players was in bad shape and they needed a stretcher. The big guy said happily "Two guys were knocked out cold, but it was only our first loss." Sena nervously sipped his tea thinking there was no way he was ever playing the sport.

The big guy was back in his chair with his head on the table saying "At the rate, we're moving… The Christmas Bowl is just wishful thinking…" Sena looked at the big guy and asked what the Christmas Bowl was. The big guy happily explained that it was the finals and that the game is only played once a year, every Christmas. "The strongest of all teams clash here! It's fantastic! It's played at the Tokyo Stadium with replays being shown on its Aurora Vision!" Sena was very impressed. The big guy continued to talk about the Christmas Bowl being the ultimate battlefield for war. The big guy happily added "Someday, we will also stand on that field! Wouldn't you agree? Even though we lost our first battle... We will make it back into the tournament! All of us, together! We will definitely clash heads with our opponents! Just thinking about it gets me fired up!" Sena was really moved by the big guy speech. If only there were some way that he could help. That was when Sena noticed a poster stating that the Amefuto club was looking for a team manager. "That sign over there… What does a team manager do?" Sena asked the big guy. He looked at the poster and stated "Huh? A team manager is responsible for scouting and analyzing the opponents' plays. He is also the one that sets games up with other schools. Management is also part of the person's task, as well as executive management to the team itself."

Sena could just picture it now. Him in a business suit, somewhat smoother hair, holding a handheld video recorder and typing on a laptop, analyzing the opposing team. Senate turning his head towards the person next to him, pushing a pair of glasses up from the bridge of his nose, and said, "Coach, I discovered a weakness in our opponent's plays." The coach turned to Sena in utter amazement and stated "What?! You see through the enemy already?!" The big guy saying happily "As expected of Sena-kun." The coach was practically crying when he said, "We're going to the Christmas Bowl thanks to you." Mamori jumping for joy and saying "You're so cool, Sena-kun." When the fantasy ended, Sena remembered what Mamori told him about him having to do things for himself. Sena spoke up with a "Can I… Can I be your team manager?" The big guy quickly stood up and stated with utter excitement "EH!? Of... Of course, you can!" Then the big guy grabbed Sena by the arms and twirled him around and stated happily "All right! Let's aim towards the Christmas Bowl together!" The two happily chatted as they ate cake and drink.

Later, on his way home, Sena looked at the phone book on his cell phone happily. He had a new number and a new friend. It turns out that the big guy's name was Kurita Ryokan. Perhaps it was a good idea to join the Amefuto Club. The next thing Sena knew was that he just got punched in the face and landed on the ground. When Sena looked up he saw the three bullies from earlier. The blonde stated "We've been waiting for you," and then added "You seem to have gone all chummy with the fat kid. Renraku-sama has two teach his pashiri a lesson. Don't even dare try to run away like last time." Sena was scared, so he meekly said "Ye…Yes…" As he lowered his head. The brunette leisurely waved of baseball bat around and stated "But to use a bat… Will be all right? Isn't it a little too much?" The blonde answered, "Well, it's not the best way, since we already have a record with the police." Red glasses just said "Police?" The blonde rubbed his cheek and stated "But if we can find a good reason to use it… Let's just say that fat kid attacked us with that bat. That will put an end to that Amefuto Club." Sena couldn't believe his ears as he remembered Kurita and his passion for the sport. The blonde took the cigarette out of his mouth and said to Sena "Ho, will guide teacher lesson. Don't you dare run." Sena fisted his hand and softly said "No… Never…" The three bullies were surprised that the smaller student spoke back to them as he continued saying "I will never do that for you…" And then he shouted "You can beat me up however you want! But I will never cooperate with you!"

The three bullies looked at one another briefly. Red glasses grabbed Sena, the brunette was taking practice swings in the air with the bat, and the blonde cracked his knuckles and said "Oh well, too bad then. Better find a new body." Sena struggled and thought 'Shit, the definitely gonna beat the crap outta me!' Red glasses spotted Sena's cell phone in his hand and took it saying "What's this? A cell phone?" Red glasses drop Sena and use his foot to keep Sena back as he tried to get his cell phone back. Red glasses look through the phone and said "Ha! You're hiding a girl's numbering in here!" The blonde looked at Sena's phone and stated "That Kurata guy is also in here. Maybe we should leave the girl a message." That was when Sena snapped. He lunged at the blonde, biting his hand, getting his phone back, and ran away. The runner can hear one of the bullies shouting "HE'S GETTING AWAY!" The blonde told red glasses to head to the station to cut off Sena, while he and the brunette chase after the freshman themselves. Sena kept running through an alleyway and into a very crowded street. The only thing you can say was "Oh shi…No way."

Walking out of a nearby store was a tall thin young man in his final years of high school with long, spiky blond hair, pointed ears with two piercings on each one, razor-sharp teeth that showed when he grinned, sharp beady eyes, and was wearing the same uniform as Sena. Yes, this was the same teen that was tossing Sena in the air the other day with Kurita. The blonde teen with sharp features noticed Sena while blowing a bubble with the gum he was chewing, and remember that he was one of the students he was trying to recruit. Sena's mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out whether or not to lose his pursuers in the crowd or try to find another direction to go in order to head to the station. The blonde and the brunette bullies finally caught sight of Sena. The short brunette looked at the names in his phone book. He knew what he had to do, you can let them get his phone. He spread his legs and bet them a bit. He focused his eyes on the crowd in front of him, he could see the path he needed to take right before him. The brunette bully was almost an arm's length away from Sena. The next thing the two bullies knew was a gust of wind where Sena used to be. Sena raced past the tall blonde teen with the sharp features and he zigzagged through the crowd without running into a single person; although, he did leave a lot of people clueless about where the wind came from. The blonde and the brunette bully tried to make the way through the crowd, but they weren't making much headway. The sharp-featured blonde saw the whole thing 'That carry…' Sena continued to run towards the train station. Red glasses stood right in front of their gate in order to block Sena from getting through. As Sena ran towards red glasses, he grabbed his bag, tightened his grip on his cell phone, and practically spun out of red glasses' way, leaving him confused. The sharp-featured blonde saw the whole thing as he ran after the kid 'Oh! A spin move!' Sena managed to get into the station ahead of the three bullies. He jumped down the stairs shouting "Heee! I won't make it~~!" On top of the nearby building, the blonde with the sharp features were watching Sena as he ran towards the closing doors of the train, "Not yet… Keep those legs moving!" He said aloud. The doors were closing. The blonde with the sharp features shouted "DIVE!" Sena took a chance and dove through the closing doors, much like an amefuto player diving towards a touchdown. Sena tumbled a bit landing upside down and softly said "Ahahah… Excuse me…" As the patrons on the train stared at him. The three bullies finally got past the gate and ran down the stairs, but the brunette twisted his ankle a bit, which caused him to trip, thus running into the other two bullies, all three tumbled down the stairs and landed very painfully on the train platform. Through the speakers of the station, a young woman said "Please do not run. It is very dangerous." The blonde with the sharp features walked over to the three bullies, sat down on the blonde bully's head, and stated "Touchdown! Ya~~Ha~~!"

The very next day at Deimon High. Kurita was happily talking the blonde teen with the sharp features as they walked towards the Amefuto clubhouse. The blonde was carrying something big in a bag. "Yep! We got a new recruit just yesterday!" Kurita said happily. The pointy-eared blonde stated that he found someone too, and with a smile, he explained "Well, this guy will be our golden-leg it running back. He so full of energy, I had to make sure he joined." Kurita smiled and said "That's great! I can't wait to meet this guy, Hiruma!" The blonde, Hiruma, smiled taking the bag off his AK-47, opened the club door with his foot, and said "Follow me. I've arranged a meeting." Kurita was confused by this, but when Hiruma started firing his AK-47 into the clubhouse, at Sena, who was tied up, gagged, and was dangling in midair. While firing his gun, Hiruma said calmly "Here he is. Prepare a recruitment form." The only thing Kurita did was shout Sena's name.

Inside the school, Mamori was getting ready to leave. She put her shoes on and after taking a few steps she looked into Sena's shoe cubby and seeing that his shoes were still there meant that he was still in the school building. Mamori left the school thinking 'Maybe he joined a club. That's good then. Even if we don't go home together, I still see him in school. That's right … You're not a child anymore, Sena.'

Sena was now wearing a red amefuto jersey with the number 21 in white with protectors underneath, gloves, amefuto trousers, and a black amefuto helmet with red wings painted on it with a green eye shield. Kurita happily stated "Ooh! Number 21! The eyeshield looks cool!" Hiruma stated, "Having this kind of look in the game, his hidden talents will rise up." "Game?" Sena said and then added, "No, I'm going to be the team manager." Hiruma cocked his AK-47, startling Sena, but it looked like Kurita was used to this kind of behaviour. Hiruma rested the butt of his AK-47 on the table next to him and stated "Listen here, during the game, you will not be Kobayakawa Sena. Instead, you will be known as…" And pointed at Sena "Eyedshield 21!" Sena was practically crying when he said, "But I want to be the team manager." Hiruma said with an eerie smile "Then you can be both."

~}i{~

Meanwhile in the school. There were posters of three naked guys with their private parts and face covered by the Deimon Devilbats' mascot all over the school. The three bullies saw them, knowing full well that it was them on the posters. Also on the posters were the words in big bold letters, "Don't Touch Him Again or the Bats are Coming Off." The one with the red sunglasses stated "Huh?" Then, the blonde stated "Huuh?!" And lastly, the brunette shouted "Huuuh?!" (5)

~}i{~

The very next day. Mamori and Sena were talking to each other as they headed to Deimon High. Mamori was shocked when Sena told her that he'd joined the Amefuto club. Sena tried to explain that Kurita was actually a really nice person, but Hiruma had to be the worst person on earth. Mamori said in a worried tone "This Amefuto tournament… It's not really for you," and then she stated in a more serious tone "Why is Sena playing such a sport when he is very fragile and weak?" Sena said with a sweatdrop "Don't say such things." Mamori turned to Sena and quickly stated "Listen, I'm a member of the honours society. If something bad happens, tell me right away, okay?" Sena gave a nervous chuckle and said "Don't worry, I'll be alright. I'm not a player, but a manager." Mamori was very relieved when Sena explained that he was only going to be in charge of managing the Amefuto club. "But why are you here so early in the morning?" Mamori asked Sena. He straightened his tie and stated with a smile "Because we have a team meeting."

A little while later. Hiruma, who was already in his Amefuto uniform, was dragging a very tied up Sena, who was also in uniform, out of the Amefuto clubhouse with his fangs showing through his smile and saying "So let's begin the morning practice." Sena was protesting the entire time he was being dragged. Kurita was already on the practice field, tackling on a tackling sledge. Kurita said good morning to Hiruma and Sena as they came onto the practice field, not at all fazed by the fact that Sena was tied up. Kurita took his helmet off and said "So far we only have three members since the club was formed. I was so glad; I woke up early even though I usually don't. I woke up and I've been at it since 2 o'clock." Sena wasn't really sure what to say, but Hiruma pointed at Kurita and said nonchalantly "This here is an idiot, an idiot." When Hiruma looked at the tackling sledge, he noticed that it was broken and that shouted at Kurita "Idiot! You broke that, didn't you?!" Sena watched the scene and thought 'That's incredible power… It's frightening…' Hiruma's dark aura emitted from him as he kicked the broken tackle sledge and stated "Shit. Can't do anything about it now. I'll just get our principle to get us a new one." The expression of oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-die appeared on Sena's face as he thought '… This person or is even worse!'

While Hiruma was scolding Kurita, Sena looked at the equipment that was already set up for their practice. That was when he noticed a rope ladder on the ground. Kurita saw Sena looking at the rope ladder and explain that it was used were ladder drills and was the basic training to learn the movements of Amefuto. After Kurita was done explaining Sena tried doing the, but realized that he almost joined in the practice without even realizing it when Hiruma stated that they were going to practice the rundown on the latter. Hiruma grabbed the back of Sena has caller and started to drag him, much to Sena's protest. Kurita was stretching his neck when he stated "I guess my back is kind of sore. I'm done after I do the 40-yard dash." (Note: 40 yard dash = 36 meters). Hiruma took out a stopwatch from his pocket and stated "A 40-yard dash… It's been a long time. Okay, let's clock the runs." Hiruma tossed the stopwatch to Sena and said to Kurita with a cackle "Show me the results of your morning training." Kurita stated that he couldn't make himself run so fast so soon as he was setting up the red cones for the 40-yard dash. Sena looked at the stopwatch and asked Hiruma how many seconds does it usually take to run 40 yards. Hiruma explained that for the average players, it's about five seconds. Hiruma also added "You can say the five-second barrier is the difference between an average player and a sprinter," as he watched Kurita set up the cones. Hiruma glanced at Sena and stated "If a high school student can do it in 4.8 seconds, you can go anywhere. High school's fastest guy is named Shin, and his is 4.4 seconds." Kurita was done setting up the cones and was currently standing behind them. Hiruma told Sena to be ready with the stopwatch before stating "Ready… Set…" Hiruma covered his left ear as he shot a bazooka into the air, startling Sena and shaking the entire foundation of the school. That was the signal to go. Kurita started running. Sena clicks the stop on the stopwatch the moment Kurita passed him. Hiruma walked over to Sena asking what Kurita's time was.

Kurita Ryoukan, 40 yards = 6.5 seconds.

Hiruma immediately got pissed. He started kicking Kurita and shouting "YOU FUCKING FATASS! WHAT MORNING TRAINING ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Kurita stated, while enduring Hiruma's abuse, "Can't help it! I'm already beat!" Sena just watched the whole thing not really sure whether to interfere or not. That was when Hiruma stated, already at the cones for the 40-yard dash, "Goddammit! I'll show you how it's done." Sena was surprised that Hiruma was a ready there, but got the stopwatch ready. Hiruma ran the 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds. Hiruma happily stated that he ran his best time, while Sena only looked at the stopwatch in amazement. Hiruma turned to Sena, indicating that the freshman had one as well. Sena nervously said "I can't… I'll have to pass…" Hiruma was almost nose to nose with Sena when he said "Wha? Wanna run that much?"

Sena was now standing at the start of the 40-yard dash. Hiruma turned to Kurita, who was now holding the stopwatch, and stated: "It's possible to overcome the five-second wall with those legs." Kurita wasn't really sure if he should believe it or not and said that it might be asking too much. Hiruma stated casually "Yeah… Maybe a right. We'll soon find out that." When Hiruma shot off his bazooka, shaking the entire school again, Sena ran the 40-yard dash.

Kobayakawa Sena, 40 yards = 5.0 seconds.

Kurita was amazed that Sena got 5 seconds exactly and Sena was surprised that he actually ran five seconds. Hiruma didn't say anything. A few seconds later Hiruma was on his laptop reading Sena's files out loud "Kobayakawa's physical strength test based on his junior high days was… He placed first only in subject repetition hopping." Sena was shocked and wondered how the heck Hiruma was able to get his files. While opening a bag of doggie treats Hiruma explained that Sena built up his speed by running errands but loses speed quickly in the foot race so he never really breaks any records. Hiruma placed a doggie treat in Sena's jersey, much to the confusion of the freshman. The blonde took a deep breath before he shouted "CEREBEROS!" The sky turned black, a horrendous creature of a dog appeared out of nowhere and started chasing Sena. Hiruma hit the stopwatch the moment Sena passed the cones. "Ya_Ha_ This guy shows his true colours!" Hiruma shouted pulling Kurita to show him the numbers on the stopwatch, 4.20. Hiruma continued by shouting "He broke the high school record! It's the top speed in the NFL! No one can stop that! It's the golden legs!"

Kobayakawa Sena 40 yards = 5.0 seconds, 4.2 seconds (only when Cerberos was running after him)

Kurita shook the nearly unconscious speedster as he said happily "Se..Sena-kun! You shouldn't have to hide this talent." Hiruma stated that they would win the tournament the spring. Kurita noted that the tournament was coming up. Hiruma then stated that they needed to gather more people to help them. Sena could just picture him as the manager of the successful Amefuto team. Kurita asked when the tournament starts. Hiruma stated nonchalantly that the tournament was tomorrow. Both Sena and Kurita stated that it was too soon.

~}i{~

They were now back in the Amefuto club room. Hiruma stood in front of Kurita and Sena, who were sitting in chairs and sipping tea, and stated "We need people to help us out by tomorrow's game! We're going to split up and gather them." Sena piped up and said, "I thought you said there were 11 people in Amefuto…" Hiruma pointed to himself as he said the number nine, then pointed to Kurita and said the number 10, and lastly pointed to Sena and said the number 11. The tea Sena was drinking came out of his nose and mouth the moment Hiruma said that. Sena stated that he refused to play and stated that he was just the manager. Kurita said "Actually, I also wish Sena-kun to be a player with those amazing legs, but I don't want to force you. I'll be happy if you decide to participate in the game tomorrow. So let's do our best together nine people." Hiruma hung up a poster with their names on it and shouted "Each Person – Three People. I Don't Care What You Have To Do. Just Pull out Anybody from the Sports Teams!" Both Kurita and Sena stated in fear, "Th-three people! Today?" Hiruma stated calmly "Of course," and then with his pointy teeth showing, he pointed at the two and stated, "The guy with the least people gathered is going to do a penalty game." Sena can just picture the devilish upperclassman doing all kinds of torture to him if he should fail.

After Sena and Kurita quickly switched into their school uniforms in order to get to class on time. Hiruma, on the other hand, didn't even move as his teammates finally got their blazers on. Sena left the clubroom first and Kurita squeezed through the door next and he closed the door behind him, leaving Hiruma alone in the shed. When the two teens were almost at the door of the school, Sena realized that he didn't have his tie on. "I have to go back to the club room," Sena stated as he turned around and started to head back to the shed. Kurita immediately got scared and asked Sena "W-why do you need to go back? Class is going to start soon." Sena stated that he wasn't going to be long; he just needed to grab his tie and added that it wouldn't take more than a few seconds. Before Kurita could even try to stop Sena, the freshman was already at the shed door. As Sena's hand reached for the sliding door, he wondered why his upperclassman seemed terrified when he said he was heading back to the club shed. Sena slid opened the door, and what he saw made him freeze, both mentally and physically. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Hiruma didn't have his Amefuto jersey on, nor the protectors or undershirt that needed to be worn underneath. But that wasn't what made the speedster freeze. Sena could see that Hiruma was in the motion of taking a black article of clothing off, which was currently over his head and his arms were still in the black clothing. Sena wasn't sure is the devil was glaring at him or not, because Sena was staring at Hiruma's bare chest. The blond upperclassman used the black cloth to cover his chest and was a nice shade of red, Sena wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. The speedster finally found his voice "Um… I w-was j-just g-going to g-get m-my t-tie…" Sena turned to leave and added, "I'll c-come back later." Before Sena could take another step, a hand with sharp nails grabbed the speedster by the collar and dragged him into the shed. The door slid shut. Kurita saw the whole horrific thing from a distance. Tears streamed down his cheeks, not only was Sena dead meat, but they now had to find a tenth person now. Kurita liked Sena and would miss him terribly.

~}i{~

Inside the shed, Sena knew he was going to die, he just knew it. Hiruma was going to kill him for sure. Hiruma tossed Sena into a pile of paper and stated in anger "Oi, Chibi, keep your face to the wall and don't move until I tell you. Disobey and you'll live to regret it." Sena did as he was told; he sat on his knees facing the wall. This was not what he thought would happen when he joined the Amefuto club as manager. Sena noticed a mirror poking out from behind the closet he was near where he was sitting and it was angled so he could easily see the angry blond, but the blond couldn't see the mirror. Well…. Technically he was facing the wall and the mirror just happens to be near the wall Sena was facing, so he wasn't actually disobeying the blond's orders per se. Sena made sure to keep his head still, but his eyes in the mirror. He saw Hiruma remove the black cloth from his chest, revelling what Sena saw earlier. Hiruma, the worst person you can ever meet and was practically called the devil himself had boobs. Turns out the black cloth was a work-out bra. Sena watched as Hiruma's reflection placed the black work-out bra in a duffle bag and pulled out a white work-out bra and the school uniform. Without moving, Sena looked closely at the reflection of the female devil. Yup, Hiruma obviously had breasts, Sena wasn't seeing things. They weren't big as Mamori-neechan's, not that Sena would be looking at his big sister figure's chest in that way on purpose, but you could tell that Hiruma was clearly a she. Sena guessed with the right clothing and the work-out bras, no one would ever notice that Deimon High's Devil was a she. But this did raise a question.

"Alright, Chibi, you can move," Hiruma stated, now in the school's uniform (for boys btw). Sena slowly turned to the blond and timidly said "S-so… Y-you're… Actually…" Hiruma kicked the wall, barely missing Sena's nose and causing the freshmen to nearly wet himself. Sena shakily looked up at Hiruma, who had the look of a reaper ready to strike. Hiruma leaned down to the shaky freshman and stated in a voice that could end a life "If you so much as call or even mention me as a 'she', 'her', or a 'girl' I will personally make sure you will never sire any children, got it." With tears of fear and a trembling body, Sena managed to nod.

~}i{~

Kurita was overjoyed when he saw that Sena came out of the shed alive, shaken out of his wits, but alive and in one piece too. Kurita quickly hugged Sena and said to Hiruma, who came out of the shed a few seconds after Sena, "You actually spared him, Hiruma! Thank you!" Hiruma plainly stated "We need his legs, so of course I did," and then added with an evil tone, "Remember what I said, Chibi?" Sena quickly stated "Y-yes sir." Hiruma grinned showing his pointy teeth and walked off. Kurita looked at the shaken teen and said calmly "You know about Hiruma, huh?" Sena sweatdropped. He really shouldn't be surprised by that the bigger player knew, but the fact that he said it so calmly is what really surprised Sena. The speedster's going to ask Kurita about Hiruma's secret another time, possibly after their scheduled match. This was definitely not what Sena expected when he joined the Amefuto club. The Devil known as Hiruma was a girl, somehow it was frightening enough to kill someone. *Shutter* Sens wonders if he'll even live long enough to see the first game when they get enough players.

~}i{~

1st Down Scored.

~}i{~

(1): A person who is made to do things or go get things for someone else; gofer.

(2): Again I am very aware of their names, but as I said before I will reveal the names as they do in the manga.

(3): Starting to feel redundant, but the manga didn't state their names during their introductions.

(4): What? He's a big guy.

(5): Okay, I know I said I would be following the manga rather than the anime, but that scene was too funny and I had to put it in this story.


	2. 2nd Down: 1st Game and A Hero Will Come at a Critical Moment

Recap: Sena had discovered the trigger that could cause the world to plummet into eternal chaos. Wait a minute…. *Looks through previous chapter* whoops, sorry, wrong information, but I wasn't too far off. Sena discovered that Deimon High's Devil was actually a She-Devil. Now back to the story before Hiruma finds out that I told you, readers. By the way, I will be putting my thoughts in parentheses throughout the story.

~}i{~

2nd Down: 1st Game and A Hero Will Come at a Critical Moment

~}i{~

Sena couldn't focus at all during class. Processing what he had just learnt before class. Yoichi Hiruma was a girl. From what Sena heard from Mamori and other students at Deimon High was that Hiruma was Satan reincarnated and that HE was the devil. It seems that only he and Kurita were the only people who knew that Hiruma was a she. Sena sighed, how was he supposed to keep calling Hiruma a guy after what he saw in the clubroom? Then he remembered the she-devil's threat to keep the 'she' out of the she-devil. Yeah, Sena was sure that he was not going to make it to their first game. He still needed to recruit three people, hopefully, that'll take his mind off of Hiruma.

~}i{~

Every rejection that Sena received was another reminder that Hiruma had a penalty game for whoever brings the least amount of recruits. That wasn't taking his mind off of the devil at all. The last club Sena went to was the Track club. "Amefuto game? That's fine. I'll play," stated a member of the Track Club. He had short black hair and was very plain (Yes, I know his name is Tetsuo Ishimaru, but because his name isn't stated in this part of the manga, I'm not saying his name again until it actually appears in the manga, ok). Sena was very shocked "Really?" "Yeah, and plus you know, Hiruma's gathering all of the freshmen too, right?" Stated the plain trackman and then he added "If I play with them, I'll be able to find out their athletic ability. Then, I'll invite them to the track team or something. Is that okay? It's a give-and-take." Sena quickly stated that it was okay and told the plain trackman that he'll see them tomorrow. The trackman practically shouted that it was impossible for him to play in the game tomorrow. He explained "I'm working part-time at the magazine delivery and I have to deliver it by tomorrow afternoon, so I can't do it. Sorry." Sena fell into despair.

~}i{~

Sena was heading towards the Amefuto club shed muttering "Of course… It's impossible to ask you to play tomorrow so suddenly… So, in the end, it's zero…" Sena could easily imagine the torture that Hiruma had planned for the penalty game. The speedster slowly slid open the door. When the door was completely open, Sena noticed that Hiruma had already gathered seven people. Kurita was slumped in a corner of the club shed, head hung down in depression. In a sad tone, Kurita said "Hi… Sena-kun also has zero people… Hiruma also stopped after seven people… Everybody in the sports clubs went home already… It's no use… We won't make it in time for the game..." Sena quickly turned towards the door and stated as he ran out that he was going to look one more time. On his way back to the school he noticed that the plain member of the track team was on his bike delivering flyers. Running through the bush, Sena darted to the teenager on the bike and stated, almost shouted, "Please let me run the errand, I mean, please let me help you!"

The trackman ripped a map in half and handed one have to Sena as he said "Now, Sena-kun, you'll take this half. When you're done, come here again thanks~~!" Then the trackman rode off on his bike in the opposite direction of where Sena was heading. Sena looked over the map, looking for the best route to take. When he found the best route, he raced off, making sure to put a neatly folded flyer in each mailbox he passed.

'Hey, Mamori-neechan. Neechan may look down on me again. Telling me that I'm being an errand boy again, but it isn't bad. When you're running for everybody's goal.'

The sun has already set when the track team member finished his flyer delivery. He hopped on his bike and said to himself, "Oh, I'm done already. I guess it's because I'm on a bicycle. Maybe I pushed him too much," then he started pedalling towards his meet-up spot with Sena and added "I'll go get half of his stack. I wonder if I'll be able to find him?" When he got to the meeting point, he nearly had a heart attack and nearly ran into a Sena, who was sitting on the ground. The trackman noticed that Sena didn't have any flyers and stated that Sena delivered them very quickly and then said "… You didn't just throw them away, did you?" Sena quickly shouted that he did deliver them. The trackman laughed as he said "I'm joking! I'm joking! Wow, I'm really saved. I'll divide my paycheck with you." Sena rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Ah, I don't care about money, actually…"

~}i{~

Sena stuck a picture of an Amefuto helmet above his name. Kurita happily swung Sena around. Sena and Kurita quickly counted the number of Amefuto helmet stickers that were on the poster and realize that with the seven that Hiruma gathered and the one person that Sena managed to acquire, in total they only had 10 people total to play. "We're… One person short. It was so close…" Kurita stated sadly, head hanging low. Sena saw that, imagining himself leading the Amefuto team into a game. Sena raised his voice to say "U-um! This other person… If I… If I participate…" The door suddenly slid open, revealing Hiruma and her shouting "THAT F*ING CONVENIENT STORE! IT RAN OUT OF SUGARLESS GUM! EVEN FLIES WON'T CHEW A STINKING SWEET GUM!" She threw two cans of cold soda towards Kurita and Sena, both of whom caught a can. Sena quietly stated that the can was freezing while Kurita wondered if fly really chew gum. Hiruma stated as she dug her hand into a box of Amefuto helmet stickers, "Oh, forgot to keep up." Kurita and Sena watched as Hiruma kept putting the stickers on the posters. Hiruma had 17 stickers over her name. The boys looked at each other in awestruck than the jump in the air stating that they did it, they reached the minimum quota. The celebration didn't last long when Hiruma saw that only Sena recruited only one person and started shouting that she was the one who did all the work and kicked them out of the club shed.

~}i{~

The next day in front of the Deimon Train Station. People were walking by without a care in the world. The plain teen from the track club waved hello to Sena, who replied with a hello. Hiruma finally showed up and stated that everyone has gathered at the meet point. One of the teens stated "What's up? You're the last one to arrive." With that, nearly everyone that Hiruma recruited said, "So, where are the extremely cute cheerleaders?" Hiruma said nonchalantly that they will come later. Sena knew that Hiruma was lying, but didn't say anything. The speedster looked around and said, "Come to think of it, Kurita-san is late." Hiruma calmly stated that Kurita had the penalty game to do. With that Sena asked nervously what kind of penalty game it was. Hiruma calmly said "I won't do something really cruel before the game. He's just the baggage carrier." Sena gave a sigh of relief. One of the recruit members stated that he came without anything and asked if it was okay. Hiruma said that she had everything covered. That was when Kurita finally showed up, hauling a load that appeared to way over a ton or two. Sena shuttered at the sight of that, making him very glad that he managed to recruit one person. Hiruma cackled.

~}i{~

Mamori was reading a text on our phone that was sent from Sena. It read 'The tournament is today! My scouting debuted game.1:00 pm at the Heavenly Grounds.' Mamori was surprised that the tournament has already begun. Then Mamori said out loud "So, Amefuto starts in April, huh?" As she rode the train towards her destination.

~}i{~

On the train with the Deimon Devil Bats Amefuto team. Sena was wondering why the train car they were in wasn't crowded, since it was only him, Kurita, and Hiruma. Unbeknownst to the Devil Bats' manager, there was a sign posted on the outside of the train cart that said 'Cleaning – Moved to Another Carriage'. Sena asked Kurita in the opponents in today's game were strong. Kurita stated that the team they were going up against was a small and weak team. Then Kurita added "Maybe we'll win! The Devil Bats first victory!" Hiruma stated, "It's not 'maybe', we will win." Kurita asked Sena "Do you have the team roster for the Tokyo Tournament?" Sena said that he did as he reached to the overhead bag holder to grab his lightweight briefcase.

Suddenly, the train veered a sharp turn causing Sena to fall over rather quickly and landing on someone, his face dipping into something soft. Sena was reeeeeeeeeeally hoping that he landed on Kurita. As Sena tried to remove himself from the awkward situation, he could hear Kurita trembling with fear and he could feel a dark aura that could be described as death itself. 'Oh Kami, I didn't land on Kurita,' Sena thought as he nervously looked up from where his face was planted. If looks could kill, Sena would've died 100 times, because Hiruma was definitely glaring a look of death at Sena. Scared out of his mind, Sena tried to move out of his predicament as quickly as possible. In doing so, Sena's right-hand ended up squeezing one of Hiruma's breasts. Things got reeeeeeeally quiet.

~}i{~

In the train carriage next to Sena's, everything was fine. Some of the recruits for the Amefuto game were talking about what the cheerleaders for the game would look like. There was a noise coming from the train carriage where the Amefuto club's manager, quarterback, and key lineman were in, it kind of sounded like Hiruma shouting something along the lines of someone being an idiot or moron. The recruits didn't think anything of it until they heard the obvious sound of Hiruma's AK-47 firing its ammo and the sounds of Kurita and Sena's screaming. Two things came into the minds of all the recruits. 1, how in the world did Hiruma smuggle a gun onto the train without anyone noticing? And 2, what happened that would make That Devil fire that lethal weapon inside the train car?

~}i{~

After Hiruma finally cooled off, Sena pulled out the tournament roster. "Wow! There are more teams this year," Kurita said in amazement. Sena looked at the roster and said "Maybe we can make it to the Kantou tournament if we win a few games. Oh… We have a way to go." That was when Sena noticed smoke emanating from the bottom of the roster. Sena screamed when he saw that Hiruma was burning the tournament roster with a pocket lighter. As Hiruma flip the lighter close she stated "Don't be thinking of unnecessary things. Win today's game! Think only about that." Sena was crying as he muttered that he couldn't look at the roster for the tournament. Hiruma tossed what was left of the piece of paper into a nearby wastebasket and stated plainly "It's okay. Today's opening game opponent is…"

~}i{~

"The Koigahama Cupids!"

The Deimon Devil Bats had arrived at the destination, Koigahama High (I'm assuming that that's the name of the school). The Cupids were in the middle of a practice game. The only thing Sena could say was wow, while Hiruma stated that the game was about to end. Sena pulled out a handheld camera and thought 'Alright! My scouting debuted game! I'll analyze the rival team… Even though I don't understand football very well, I'll do my best at filming it.' Someone said that the practice game was over. Sena was holding a box of athletic shoes as he started a conversation with the trackman "Uh, It became a bit tense…" The trackman grabbed a pair of the shoes from the box and said "It's a good feeling before a game. Being like this… Kind of makes your blood chill, y'know."

Two of the recruits were saying things along the lines of getting hurt and wanting to go home as quickly as possible. Sena heard this and thought 'The team's spirits seem to be falling to pieces. Well, I guess it can't be helped since the team was assembled in a rush.' Kurita looked at the Cupid team and stated: "Oh, they're already here." Sena wasn't sure what that meant, but when he saw the opposing team he understood. Apparently, every member of the Devil Bat's opposing team had a girl with them to help them scratch, eating a snack with them, and just being with them in general. Hiruma already had her laptop in hand and said rather nonchalantly "Koigahama Cupids 3rd year. All members have girlfriends and they are famous for bringing them to the games." All right, that brought up the team spirit by 1000%. Sena couldn't help but be amazed. That was when one of the recruits asked if the cheerleaders were coming. Sena got nervous and said "Uh, well, did they say they will come or they couldn't come...Huh? Funny, isn't it? Uh…" The recruits shouted at Sena, who was running towards Kurita and Hiruma, stating that he should do his job properly. Sena ran into an angry Hiruma and asked what he should do. Hiruma replied with a "Those guys are so f*ing annoying with their yelling."

"Oh hi, dirty Devil Bats!" Said one of the Cupid team members.

Character Data :;: Team: Koigahama Cupids; Captain, Name: Kaoru Hatsujou, 40 Yard Dash: 5.1 seconds. :;:

"I'm sorry about all loud cheering. They wouldn't listen, they insisted on coming to support us," said the player in the pink jersey with the number 19 in crimson and had an arm around a girl, supposedly his girlfriend. Hatsujou looked around the Devil Bats side of the field. The Devil Bats wasn't sure what he was looking and kind of brushed him off as a weird one. Suddenly Hatsujou shouted "OH! THERE'S NOT A SINGLE GIRL HERE! HUH? THAT'S STRANGE. I WONDER IF DEIMON HIGH IS AN ALL-BOY SCHOOL." The Devil Bats team where glaring daggers at the loud idiot. A sweatdrop appeared on Sena's head as he thought 'Technically there is a girl here for the Devil Bats, buuut she'll kill me if I say anything about that.' That was when Sena noticed that the very person he was thinking about was missing. "DON'T TELL ME YOU WON'T HAVE ANY GIRLS CHEERING FOR YOU EITHER," the Cupids' captain continued to shout. 'I wish he didn't have to shout. It's really unnecessary,' Kurita thought as he covered the ear that was closest to the shouting imbecile (I would say he was acting like a total, um, certain body part . trying to keep a rating here people). "Look, we have over 10….." Hatsujou stated, now with his inside voice, as he motioned to the other side of the field "Girls… Huh?" That was when he noticed that the 10 girls he mentioned weren't there.

"AAHH, IT'S JARI-PRO'S SAKURABA-KUN" Shouted a teenage girl, supposedly one of the cheering girls for the Cupids team. "We can really have a coed party with him?" Asked another teenage girl, who was also a Cupids girl. As it turns out they were now wearing Devil Bats cheerleader outfits now, provided by Hiruma of course. "Yep. If we win with you cheering for us," Hiruma stated with her sweet, manipulating tone of voice. The captain of the cupids practically screamed the word 'no'. Hiruma shouted at the recruits "YA-HA! ARE YOU SATISFIED, YOU F*ING BASTARDS!?" As the new Devil Bats cheerleaders started the cheer, the recruits cheered with joy. Now it was the Cupids were now burning with fury. 'I think she just added fuel to the fire,' Sena thought seeing the fiery aura emitting from the Cupids. Suddenly the sprinklers started up on the Cupids' side of the field. Apparently, Hiruma hacked into the system, this amazed Sena, but it also frightened him. Only thing Hiruma said was "It's extinguished." The speedster assumed that the She-Devil meant the blazing aura that was no longer around the Cupids.

Sena looked at one of the pictures of a teen with slightly long, wavy blond hair and brown eyes wearing a white Amefuto jersey with a blue number 18 on it and asked Kurita where they got the picture. Kurita answered with an "Oh, yeah. That's of Jari-Pro's Sakuraba-kun in the high school Amefuto club. Last year we (mainly Hiruma) forced him to take it during a practice game." Then Kurita added "The Oujou White Knights is an excellent team. They were very strong. But, somehow we held on 99-0." Sena was shocked when he said "What? You won the game?" The trackmen stated that they didn't win the game. Sena looked at the end zone on the field and said out loud "99 goals were made?" Kurita explained, "No, an Amefuto, each goal is six points or so." Hiruma stated that Sena should at least learn the rules.

Kurita dug through a bag, pulled out the oval-shaped pigskin, and stated that he would explain the rules of Amefuto before the game started. "In short, hold the ball and run to the end zone and score 6 points," Kurita explained. Hiruma activated the sprinklers that were closest to the end zone and stated that the end zone was where the sprinklers were squirting water. Then Sena asked about the post at the end zones. Kurita explains that too as he kicked the ball gently to Sena, who caught it with ease, "You can also kick the ball through the posts, but that's worth only 3 points." Sena looked at Kurita and said "So, there is an advantage to run… Because you get six points." Then Hiruma stated, "When you can run." Kurita continued to explain "But since the opponent will try to stop you by tackling you like this.." And started to rush toward Sena, who gave a yelp, then Kurita added "You have to somehow avoid him…" And somehow, Sena managed dodged Kurita. Hiruma grabbed Sena the by the collar and stated: "Let's put him in today's game after all." Sena obviously protested while Kurita stated that she couldn't force him to join in the game. The She-Devil dropped Sena and stated to him, "If it looks like we're going to win, we won't put you in, we don't want our secret weapon to break into pieces, but it looks like we're in trouble, even by one point, you're in." Sena looked nervously at the opposing team. Yeaaaah, the cupids were definitely mad, Sena could just picture them breaking him into tiny pieces. Sena covered his stomach and said in a soft voice "Huh? Suddenly my stomach... O wow… I wonder if it's cancer... I may have over-exerted myself, today. Uh…" Hiruma called a huddle, completely ignoring the speedster. Tears streamed down Sena's cheeks as he thought 'She doesn't listen and it's useless to tell her anything.' Then Sena cheered up when he thought 'That's right. If we win, I don't have to play. Do your best, Devil Bats!'

In the huddle, Hiruma told the team "Are you ready? If you bastards lose, it's the end of the tournament. Don't think about playing a good game, think only about bringing them down!" Ooookaaaay, That wasn't the kind of pep talk Sena expecting, but this was Hiruma after all. "KICK…. THEIR… ASSES! YEAH!" All of the Deimon Devil Bats shouted in the huddle. The only thing Sena could think of was 'What… A… Huddle shout.'

"The game between the Deimon Devil Bats and the Koigahama Cupid will begin. Good luck!" Stated the sportscast announcer over the speaker.

Game: Devil Bats vs. Cupid Begin. The Devil Bats kicked off and the game started.

~}i{~

Two figures approached a building that was connected to the school. One of the two figures said, "What's the point in scouting our games between small and weak teams?" The other replied "Don't speak nonsense. That's a bad habit, Sakuraba. There is no certain victory if you don't look everywhere for possible recruits." The first figure, Sakuraba, merely stated yeah. A girl overheard the conversation at the top of the stairs of the building and was surprised that she heard the name Sakuraba. The girls slipped and fell over the edge. The figure that was talking to Sakuraba darted towards the falling girl and caught her before she could hit the ground.

Character Data :;: Team; Oujou White Knights, Name; Haruto Sakuraba, 40-yard dash; 5.0 seconds:;:

Character Data :;: Team; Oujou White Knights, Name; Seijuurou Shin, 40-yard dash; 4.4 seconds:;:

After coming out of her daze, she spotted Sakuraba and fainted. Sakuraba suggested that they lay her down, Shin complied.

~}i{~

(Just to save space and time, I am not going to write up the entire games in the story, just the main events. Like the touchdowns, scores, the techniques, and maybe even a few main lines here and there.)

It was the Cupid's offence. The players lined up. Sena watched in amazement as the game began. Kurita easily broke through the Cupid's defence and tackled the quarterback. There was a lot of dust being kicked up and one of the referees wondered why the sprinklers weren't turned on and the other referee stated that someone hacked into the computer controls for the sprinkler system. Sena immediately knew who was. As Sena continued to record the game he was trying to get the rules. 'First, you set a formation and a person on the offensive team, placed at the centre, pops the ball behind him from the inseam. In that instance, the game starts. Then you either pass, run, or kick!' Sena thought doing his best to understand the game and then he thought 'So, somehow or other, it's good to keep the ball moving forward, but I still need to understand more.' Then Sena moved the handheld camera to the scoreboard and noticed that it was the end of the second quarter (note; 1 game = 4 quarters).

With Shin and Sakuraba. The blonde stated "Both teams are still scoreless. Hmmm… The Cupid's offence is powerful, in its own way…" Shin commented that Kurita would not stop. Sakuraba stated "Kurita-kun even gave us trouble, didn't he? The Cupid's soft line is no match for him. Compared to the Devil Bats' offence…"

Hiruma now had the ball and managed to throw it through a very narrow opening between the linemen. The receiver bumbled and the Cupids managed to tackle him to the ground. "Incomplete pass!" Stated the referee. Hiruma was pissed, she was kicking sand at the so-called receiver. Sakuraba commented that the pass was nice and Shin stated: "But his teammates are a bunch of amateurs." Sakuraba added "It's the same as last year after all, isn't it? Only Hiruma and Kurita are good. What a wasteful team." Shin agreed and said, "Yeah, just one more person…" The handheld camera that Sakuraba was holding was aimed indirectly as Sena, who was sitting on the bench drinking a soda. "It may be a different story if they also had a fast running back," Shin also added.

It was half-time and both teams were taking the opportunity to rest up for the second half of the game. Hiruma squeezed her cup stating that Sena shouldn't take too long to change the camera's memory. Hiruma pointed at the stands and stated if either Kurita or Sena could see what she was pointing at. Kurita saw what Hiruma was pointing at in said "Ah! It Sakuraba-kun!" Hiruma immediately used her legs to get Kurita into a chokehold and said "Sakuraba? I could care less about him. Next to him! Shins from the White Knights. The strongest and fastest linebacker in high school. He's too strong. He's not human." Kurita gulped and stated "Yeah… I felt it during the practice game last year." "A linebacker?" Sena asked looking very confused. Kurita explained "It's a defensive position. It's the essence of defence. He stops both a run and a pass." Hiruma stated while inconspicuously pointing at Sena, "It's him that I don't want to show our hidden gem too since he'll work on a countermeasure. When he leaves, were put amid immediately." Sena stated nervously, "That sounds like a very selfish scheme." As the Devil Bats went to the field as the referee blew his whistle, Sena thought with tears streaming down his face, 'Uwaaah! If I go in like this, I'll be killed… Somebody save me…'

~}i{~

It was the fourth quarter with 20 seconds left on the clock and no one has scored a single point. Sena wondered if the game will end in a draw. "FUNNURABA!" Kurita tackles one of the Cupids a little too close to Sena. "This is bad! It's close to the goal!" Kurita stated when he realized that he was at the 10-yard line. Cupid player Hatsujou pointed at the goalpost and stated "Alright! If it's this distance, we'll kick it. If the kick goes in, it'll be 3-0 with several seconds remaining. It's already our victory!" "If we don't stop that kick…" Kurita said nervously and Hiruma replied with an "I know." The She-Devil pointed at the trackman, who was wearing the number 30 jersey, and stated "The fastest person in the track club, is you! Kurita will pry an opening at the centre of the wall. Somehow or other, rush in before the ball is kicked. It's okay if you can't touch the ball just apply some pressure!" The trackman replied with an ordinary okay.

"Set !" The pressure was so intense you could cut it with a steak knife. Cupid's ball and the Devil Bats' linemen went into action to open a path for number 30. Cupid number 19 was about to get the ball when Devil Bat number 30 slipped and twisted his ankle. Cupid number 19 kicked the ball, the referee blew his whistle. The score was 0 to 3 in favour of the Cupids. The crowd for the Cupids roared. 'A few seconds… Did we lose the game? Is it over?' Was the only thing that Sena could think of. Devil Bat number 30 was still on the ground in pain. Kurita called "Ishimaru-kun" as he rushed over to number 30, Ishimaru's, side. Ishimaru stated that he twisted his right foot. Hiruma looked at the shoes that Ishimaru was wearing, got annoyed, twisted the twisted ankle, and stated "What the hell are these? Aren't these artificial turf spikes. You know these make you slide, didn't you? Who's the idiot who gave you these?" Poor Ishimaru was howling in pain the entire questioning. Sena remembered that he was the one who gave the shoes to Ishimaru.

Sakuraba scratched his head and stated "And now their ace runner is out of the game, huh? It's game over!" Shin said nonchalantly "We don't know that yet. There is still one more play."

Hiruma was annoyed when she said "Damn it! It's not the time to be saying I want to hide it. I have no choice!" The She-Devil turned to Sena and shouted: "YOU F*ING SCOUT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DAMN SPIKES." The only thing Sena could do was say he was sorry as tears started sprouting from his eyes. Hiruma started dragging Sena, who started screaming, behind a nearby building still shouting "ANY WAY. YOU GET THE DEATH PENALTY!" Kurita timidly said, "Hey, we're still in the middle of a game…" Hiruma tossed Sena into a bush. Sena stated that he was innocent until he felt Hiruma drop something into his lap. The object made Sena scream silently.

Ishimaru was taken off the field on a stretcher. Hiruma came out from behind the building and stated that Sena was put the death, the other players weren't really sure if they should say anything or not because they didn't want to get on Hiruma's bad side. Kurita was the first one to say anything "So, what about Ishimaru-kun's substitute?" Hiruma gave her, or from the other player's point of view, his devilish grin and stated: "A hero will come at a critical moment." At that moment a player in the Devil Bats' colours and had a number 21 on it sped to a halt in front of the team, startling everyone but Hiruma, who stated: "Let me introduce you to The Speed of Light Running Back Eyeshield 21!" Yep, Hiruma forced Sena into the uniform.

~}i{~

Mamori met up with two of her friends and were eating at a diner. The friends are having a blast, but Mamori kept worrying about Sena. 'Somehow I have… A really bad feeling about this…' Mamori apologized to her friends and left. She had to get to the Amefuto game as soon as possible.

~}i{~

Back on the Amefuto field. All the Devil Bats, minus Kurita and Hiruma, were talking to each other about the Eyeshield person. The referee told Hiruma that coloured eye shields weren't allowed, Hiruma presented the referee with a (forged) permission slip from the Association. The referee read the slip, it looked legitimate, so he allowed the eye shield. Kurita was excited and ran to Eyeshield 21 saying "Have you become motivated…" That was when Hiruma shocked Kurita with a stun gun. (Wait a minute, when did she get the thing in the first place?) Kurita fell over and Hiruma stated very loudly "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR BACK? DOES IT ITCH? THEN USE THE GROUND TO SCRATCH IT!" The other Devil bats were confused by this action. Hiruma kicked Kurita in the head and said in a tone that only Kurita could hear "You f*ing fatso! What are we going to do with the other athletes find out? Ishimaru came only because of those scouts!" Hiruma stopped kicking Kurita and stated "Besides… Shin is also here at? I don't want to give them any info about Sena if I can help it. We've got at least hide his identity." Sena/Eyeshield 21 wondered what Hiruma was going to do. The She-Devil started walking towards the cheerleaders and said: "Well, let's get rid of Sakuraba at least, using a simple missile." Kurita and Sena were really hoping that Hiruma wasn't actually going to use a missile to get rid of the White Knights model. When the She-Devil was right behind the cheerleaders she put her rights hand to her brow and stated loud enough for all the cheerleaders to hear, "Hey, That's Jari-Pro's Sakuraba-kun!" When the girls heard that name they quickly looked at Hiruma and look where 'he' was looking, then every single cheerleader ran in the direction where Sakuraba was, almost like a missile.

Sakuraba saw them coming and said in a panic "WOAH, CRAP! Sorry, I'll leave the rest of the video to you!" He handed the handheld video camera to Shin and then darted off to avoid the cheerleaders. Fact: Shin + technology = broken gadget. Yes, Shin accidentally broke the camera. Shin ran off after Sakuraba, grabbing him, telling him that something was wrong with the video camera, and got away from the cheerleaders. In doing so the two White Knights ran past Mamori and then the cheerleaders ran past Mamori, who was in utter confusion as to why they were running.

"Hm? Somehow Shin has disappeared too!" Hiruma stated gleefully and then turned her attention to Eyeshield 21 and stated with an evil grin "Alright, run to your heart's desire! Eyeshield 21!" The She-Devil's right index finger was literally on top of the eye shield when she stated "Nine seconds left! This is the one last play, so you'll either laugh or you'll cry! It starts with a kickoff from Cupid, but the sketch is impossible for you. Instead, I'll catch and I'll toss it to you like that, so you'll receive the ball, and then dash into the end zone (goal)! That'll be six points! 6-3, the table is turned and will win!" Kurita stated that he didn't think it will work out perfectly and Sena nervously stated that 11 people were going to tackle him. Hiruma shouted at the two "WE'VE GOT NO OTHER CHOICE! You don't want it to end here, do you?" Sena looked at Hiruma and then looked at the Cupid team, that team looked like it was possessed by demons. "It'll be completely impossible to reach the goal without falling~~!" Eyeshield 21/Sena stated in fear. Kurita tried to encourage Sena to do his best, but Sena stated that he couldn't hold down any opponent. Hiruma said in annoyance "Who said anything about holding down your opponent? No one expects anything from your physical strength." Kurita added that Sena-kun had the legs. Hiruma pointed at Sena/Eyeshield 21 and stated: "Hold down the field!" Sena was definitely shocked by that statement.

~}i{~

"Nine seconds left, Cupid is kicking off." The sportscaster announced. Cupid number 19 kicked the ball really high into the air. Yet the Cupids commented that they'll tackle as soon as the opposing team catches the ball. Hiruma caught the ball with ease, but before she was tackled she tossed the ball to Eyeshield 21/Sena, who caught it rather clumsily. Hiruma shouted for Sena to go. With his lightning legs, he started to run, in the wrong direction. Hiruma instantly shouted "THE OTHER WAY-!" The speedster skidded to a halt to turn around, but instead, he started to slip, causing a lot of dust to kick up. Hiruma shouted that Sena was wearing sneakers, the wrong kind of shoes to wear on the turf they were on. Cupid number 19 struck a pose as he said "Hmmm~~!? Does he know that it's over if he falls?" The next thing anyone knew was that Eyeshield 21 bursting through the cloud of dust and running straight towards the right end zone.

Eyeshield 21/Sena kept running and dodging all of the Cupid players, four out of the 11. The Cupid players who weren't on the field stated that that was in the speed of a high school student. Cupid number 19 shouted out his team to stop Eyeshield 21 and they tried to do so. To the speedster's eyes, he could see the best path to dodge the oncoming players and he followed that route, now seven out of the 11. Time was running out. Cupid number 19 shouted at the remaining four defenders to stop the speedster. The four managed to box the speedster in. Sena couldn't see any opening for him to the run-through. There was a blur of red, but Sena managed to see a white 1 and 77. Kurita and Hiruma blocked two of the Cupids and managed to open a path for Eyeshield 21. The speedster can now see the path to run very clearly. He passed all 11. 'There's nobody left! No one can stop me!' Eyeshield 21 past the line to the end zone.

The referee shouted "TOUCHDOOOWN." And blew his whistle. The game ended 6-3, Devil Bats' win. Hiruma shouted "YA~~~~~HA~~~!" using her pocket light to light the cannons that shot up the fireworks into the sky. The Cupid thinking to their knees in utter defeat. Kurita happily tossed his teammates in the air shouting that the Devil bats have won the first game. Sena/Eyeshield 21 smiled, and it lasted until he slipped in the mud that covered the end zone. Riiiiight, Hiruma used the sprinklers to show Sena where the end zone was before the game started, that's why it was so muddy. Eyeshield 21/Sena heard the sound of many running feet, when he turned he saw all the temporary recruits for the Devil Bats running towards them, asking him to join the club that they were originally part of. Hiruma shouted at Kurita to block their path, Kurita did so with ease. Hiruma kneeled down near Eyeshield 21/Sena stated calmly "If they find out about his real identity… To become a violent kidnapping battle, right? A tiring high school life with no rest or leisure time, constantly being USED… Well, I guess there are perks to that too?" Sena practically pictures the image of all the Deimon High clubs trying to recruit him.

~}i{~

Near the sidelines for the Cupids, Mamori just stood there in amazement. 'There's an amazing athlete that's just a small as Sena. It Sena works hard too…' Mamori thought before she realized that she needed to find Sena right away. Mamori spotted Ishimaru on the bench and asked him where Sena was. Ishimaru explained "Hiruma said something about him making mistakes as a scout… He's in the back getting his ass kicked." Hiruma saw that and stated in an annoyed tone "Damn it, a bothersome person is here." The temporary Devil Bats players broke through Kurita's defence. Hiruma kicked Eyeshield 21/Sena and shouted "HURRY UP AND GET BACK THERE! I'LL F*ING KICK YOUR ASS IF YOU GET DISCOVERED!" The speedster darted away from everyone and rounded the building to get back to the spot where he originally changed into the Eyeshield 21 persona. Mamori was worriedly calling out Sena's name as Sena quickly changed out of the Eyeshield 21 persona.

Mamori turned a corner, still calling out Sena's name, and that's when she saw in the bush with his uniform dirty and 'unconscious'. Tears swelled in Mamori's eyes, she buried her face in her hands and said "…I'm sorry… It's all because I told you to join a club…" Mamori pulled Sena into a hug, his face being planted directly on top of her breasts, and she added, not knowing the awkward position she put Sena in, "Sena heeded your best! I'm sorry!" Mamori was mad when she moved from behind the building, pulling Sena along with her. "HIRUMA-KUN!" Mamori shouted, getting the blonde quarterback's attention. Mamori glared at Hiruma, who was merely glancing at her as if she was just an annoyance. Sena tried to tell Mamori that she got the wrong idea. Meanwhile, the rest of the Devil Bats were cowering behind some kind of barrier, mentioning that this was the first time they saw Mamori Anezaki mad.

"Your brutality towards Deimon High's first years, even if no one talks about it… Or even if the school disciplinary committee has given up. TODAY I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH IT!" Mamori stated towards the Devil of Deimon High. "Ho~~~~~won't let me get away huh?" Hiruma stated, almost in a pleasant mood, as she (or from Mamori's point of view, he) walked over to her duffel bag. Mamori started off with "I won't let you… And…" But then she got quiet, not sure what else to add. Hiruma pulled out a black notebook that had the words 'Devil's Handbook' etched onto the cover as s'he' added: "So you're going to make an appeal for the removal of the sports club?" Mamori got a voice back when she said "That's not what I meant. I will have you… Disqualified from the tournament." Hiruma didn't say anything per se, she just tossed the notebook back into her duffel bag. Mamori pointed at Hiruma and stated "Whatever it is, you will stop picking on Sena! Sena is none of your concern!" Mamori grabbed Sena's right hand and started walking away with him as she told him "I'll look for a nicer club for you. Let's go, Sena!" Kurita started crying, not only for the fact that he was losing a friend but also a member of the Amefuto club.

Sena looked at Mamori's hand that was clutching his own. Memories flooded back from the past. Mainly of little Mamori holding little Sena's hand as the other children teased him, but they ran off as soon as Mamori glared at them. Sena cried as he told Mamori-neechan that he was a weakling. Mamori tried cheering him up by saying that he didn't have to be strong. Mamori also stated "Sena is already cool the way he is! And also_" she paused, not knowing what else to say, so she just repeated that Sena was cool the way he was. That didn't help him at all. 'Mamori-neechan. Someday… Neechan will no longer need to hope hold onto… My hand.' The image of Mamori's hand holding Sena's hand slowly faded into Sena holding onto an oval-shaped ball and Sena running down the field for a touchdown.

Sena let go of Mamori's hand. "Sena…?" Mamori said as she watched Sena pickup amefuto ball. "It's all right. I'm sorry, Mamori-neechan. I'm going to stay here, in the football club." Sena said as he looked up from the ball and smiled. Kurita now had tears of joy streaming down his face. "But… What is keeping you here?" Mamori questioned Sena. Hiruma had a brilliant idea within seconds after Mamori asked her question. The quarterback suddenly appeared behind Sena, padding him on the shoulder, and stating "Nothing… Sena-kun's places here. No one is forcing him to stay. There is no doubt about it! Being a manager is his task…" Then Hiruma did put a hand to her chin and added nonchalantly, "But being the manager could be overwhelming. We could only somehow decrease workload…" Mamori stared at the trio for a bit before saying "Manager? Is a female one all right? Is there anyone else that wants the job?" Kurita didn't say anything, indicating the answer was that the job was open. Mamori stated "It's settled. I'll do it!" Both Kurita and Sena shouted the word What rather loudly. Mamori was happy and told Sena that everything would be okay, while Sena was trying to tell Mamori that she was being fooled. Kurita was overjoyed that another person has joined the Amefuto club. Hiruma cackle softly, happy that Mamori took the bait, and stated softly "Got another free working person for us."

Kurita was twirling around as he happily said "We got our first win and we have four members as well! At the rate, we're going this year… We're going all the way to the top! We can finally compete against the Oujou White Knights." Sena dug through his bag looking for the tournament rooster but pulled out a burnt piece of paper. Oh right, it was burnt to a crisp by Hiruma. Kurita suggested that they ask Hiruma who their next opponents were. Hiruma nonchalantly replied "The Oujou White Knights." Both Kurita and Sena screamed in terror. Hiruma really was a She-Devil. At the same time, the temporary Devil Bats were kind of hitting on Mamori; although, it didn't look like she knew that.

~}i{~

At the Oujou Private High School (*Looking at a picture of the school* That's a really big private school), more specifically, in the Amefuto club. The coach of the White Knights was shouting at the team, mainly Sakuraba and Shin, for not recording the entire match between the Devil Bats and the Cupids. The coach was a man who appeared to be in his late 60s with short white hair and wrinkles. The coach shouted at Sakuraba that it was his responsibility to record the game. Sakuraba said timidly "Tha…. That's right boss….Coach Shōji, isn't it? I had to run 'cause I was being chased…" Shin interrupted by saying "No. It was my responsibility as well. I ran for my responsibilities as well." Sakuraba was surprised that Shin was taking the blame for his mistake. Coach Shōji knew this when he thought 'Uuu… Everyone here clearly listens to you when you speak. Let's see how you deal with the punishment….' Coach Shōji turned away from the team at and stated loudly "Shin! You're not going to start against the Devil Bats." That surprised the entire team. Shin reluctantly stated that he understood. Coach Shōji was still in his thoughts 'Well, it'll be enough to let Shin play from the middle of the game against the Deimon High School. It'll be good practice for the others, too.' Sakuraba was also in deep thought, 'This guy is already like that in junior high….Why is he taking the fall for my mistake…' One of the younger members of the White Knights noticed that the camera was completely broken and practically shouted when he asked you broke it. Shin stated that he didn't know, even though he was the one who did break it unintentionally (mental note; never give Shin any technical gadgets, EVER), Sakuraba did shout that it was Shin who did it. Coach Shōji nearly shouted "Recently, you guys have been slacking off. We can't afford to let the enemy gain on us. You need to be mentally strong! Zero points allowed means that a single point can win the game! The most important thing in Amefuto is defence! The White Knights' defence this year will take charge around this time! We will definitely bring home the championship!"

After the coach's speech, Shin practically locked himself in the exercise room with all the training equipment. He started working out almost immediately, starting off with sit-ups. 'I will not fail. I will not lose stamina. I will not fail myself,' Shin thought to himself the entire time he did the sit-ups. When Shin was done with the sit-ups he thought to himself 'I am not yet good enough. I am still not content being an average person… I still have to seize it!' Shin balance himself on both with his thumbs and started to do push-ups on those two thumbs. I have to prove to her I can support her' Shin thought with determination in his eyes. (… Is even possible in the real world? And this guy still thinks he's not good enough….Wait? Who's he talking about?... Umm…. Back to the story…)

~}i{~

Back with the Deimon Devil Bats, who were now on the train back to their school. Kurita was trembling with nervousness as he slowly said the name of the Devil Bats next opponent, which made Sena wonder if they were really that strong. Hiruma said "We'll get revenge after last year's 99-0. But this year we have Eyeshield 21." Two of the temporary recruits asked Hiruma who that Eyeshield guy was, Hiruma practically replied with a sinister grin "Who knows…?" Yeah, Hiruma wasn't giving them any crumbs on Eyeshield's identity, but Hiruma did give them a little bit of Eyeshield 21's history, "After finishing the Basque training at the distinguished Retsukafu PE school in Russia. He went to Notre Dame College to study Amefuto. Every match he would score 100 points. He's that type of guy is telling you." Sena was practically breaking into a sweat when he heard that, making the poor freshman wonder how long it took Hiruma to come up with those lies. That was when Hiruma finally said "If they scored 99 points, you win the game by scoring 100 points. The most important thing in Amefuto is an offence! I will set a block to open up a route to run on. Then the Eyeshield 21 guy will take care of the rest. This hand will score is 100 points!" That was when all of Hiruma's pointy teeth were showing as she grinned. Sena wasn't sure if he should be nervous or excited.

~}i{~

2nd Down: Ended.

~}i{~

Omake Moments:

Sena looked at his right hand. The hand that let go of the hand of his elder sister figure, who had protected him from bullies and generally everything bad. Sena just looked at it and has done so for about five minutes or so. Sena's face turned crimson red as he remembered the feeling of Hiruma's breast under that hand. Seeing Hiruma's breasts was one thing, being able to feel them in his hand was another thing. 'Small and soft,' Sena turning red at that thought. He felt like a pervert. If Hiruma caught him thinking about that kind of stuff about her, she'll fire real bullets at him. Sena cried, 'How did things turn out like this with Hiruma? Come to think of it, why is she keeping her gender a secret?'

Hiruma sneezed. She sniffed a bit and looked up at the fluffy white clouds. 'Wonder if someone's talking about me?' she thought before pulling out her trusty AK-47 and gave a sinister smile. 'Oh well,' she gave the assault rifle a loading click as she thought with that smile still on her face, 'I think I'll go gather some more information for my Handbook.'

~}i{~

Gale-Dragon: Hello valued readers. I have an announcement, I have chosen five teams (from picking their names randomly from a hat) and I will gender-bend one person from each of the chosen teams into a girl for this story.

Here are the teams: Oujou White Knights, Taiyō Shinx, Seibu Wild Gunmens, Hakushū Dinosaurs, and Shinryūji Naga.

If anyone wants, you can leave your suggestions one who you want to be gender-bent in the comment box. Since the Devil Bats are facing off ageist the White Knights next, please leave suggestions for them first. And don't suggest Sakuraba or Shin, since I already confirmed that they are guys in this story. The Nagas will also make an appearance, so leave suggestions for them too.


	3. 3rd Down: Battle Against the White Knights, Part One

Gale-Dragon: Hurray, Chapter three is up. Hurray. Alright, now for the most important information for this story, the characters from each team that'll be gender-bent,

Oujou White Knights = Takami Ichirō. Fem!Takami's first name will be Ichigo.

Taiyō Sphinx = Harao Kiminari. Fem!Harao's first name will be Kimiko.

Seibu Wild Gunmens = Tetsuma Jō. Fem!Tetsuma's first name will be Jōdie.

Hakushū Dinosaurs = Maruko "Marco" Reiji. Fem!Marco's first name will be Rei.

Shinryūji Naga = Kongō Unsui. Fem!Unsui's first name will be Usagi. (In this story, Shinryūji went co-ed five-years prior to the current storyline. There are around 500 students that attend Shinryūji, but only 8 of the students are girls, this includes Kongō Usagi.)

Alright, at the end of this chapter I shall explain why I choose the characters above. Also, I will be veering off the storyline of the manga from time to time. Enjoy the story.

~}i{~

Remember:

"Talking"

'Thinking'

(Author making a comment)

*Video Ads in the Eyeshield 21 manga*

** Flashbacks**

~}i{~

3rd Down: Battle Against the White Knights, Part One

~}i{~

Sena was walking passed the gates of Diemon High with a smile on his face. The other Diemon High students looked at him in awe. "That's the manager of the Amefuto club," stated one of the students as Sena continued his way towards the school building. "Yea, he was the one who leads the team to win the Christmas Bowl," stated another student as they continue to watch Sena in awe. "Not only that, but he also has the most amazing girlfriend in the entire school," stated a male student with a tone of jealousy. The entire Amefuto team practically rushed at Sena, all with smiles on the faces. "There's our key member," said one of the Devilbats happily. "Sena-kun, is it true that you're going on your date with HER tonight?" Kurita asked happily. Sena scratched the back of his head nervously and stated "Well, I did promise her that I would take her out when we won the Christmas Bowl, so…. Yea, our date is tonight." The Devil Bat players smiled, patting Sena on the back and stating that he was a lucky man since he had practically the perfect girl. Sena stated that he should thank the Amefuto club since it was the club that helped him get the perfect girl. The team smiled at that.

Someone snuck up behind Sena, scaring the daylight out of the team manager. "Now, Sena, there's no need to shout," Mamori stated placing her hands on her hip. "Mamori-neechan, I told you to stop doing that! I swear, you're going to stop my heart one of these days," Sena said trying to get his heart to get back in a healthy rhythm. Mamori patted Sena on the back and said with a smile, "Aw come on Sena, do you really think I would do that to you on the day of your date with your girlfriend?" Sena smiled a bit. Mamori was really supportive of Sena dating, especially since she and Sena's girlfriend were very good friends. Yes, Sena was really looking forward to tonight.

Kurita spotted someone heading their way and stated happily, "Waa~! Talk about perfect timing." Sena turned and smiled when he saw his girlfriend. The wind gently blew the bottom of her uniform skirt, while the rest of her uniform hugged her figure perfectly. She waved at Sena with her thin arms and shouted: "There you are f*ing chibi boyfriend." Hiruma was wearing the girl's uniform for Deimon High. Sena awoke from his slumber with a scream. Panting, Sena thought 'That was one horrible nightmare.' Sena shuttered, he really hoped that he could prevent Hiruma from finding out that he was having those kinds of dreams. He was sure that the She-Devil would stay true to her threats and kill him.

Pitt, Sena's pet cat that was black on his back while his underbelly was pure white (No idea if Pitt's a boy or a girl, so I may or may not go back and forth on Pitt's gender), jumped onto Sena's bed and meowed. Sena smiled a bit and petted the cat. "You think that dream was a nightmare or a horrible vision of the future?" Sena asked Pitt. The cat jumped off the bed and walked out of Sena's room. "You're right Pitt, it was just a nightmare, a really bad one," Sena smiled nervously as he got out of bed to get ready for the day.

~}i{~

Sena was walking towards the Amefuto club said trying to make sense of the small portion of the tournament roster that manages to survive Hiruma's lighter. Sena was at the club door when he said aloud "There should be another tournament table around… Better go look for it." Sena distinctly remembers that the club shed was the messiest place on campus. When Sena slid opened the door, the shine of cleanliness was the first thing he saw. (Well now, that was a complete 360 from yesterday). Mamori saw Sena at the doorway and greeted him as she was wiping down the wall of the shed. Once Mamori was finished she said "It was a little dirty so I cleaned up. It might not be that different from before." Sena quickly stated that it was a lot cleaner now than it was before. Kurita walked into the club said stating that the inside was all sparkling. When Sena and Mamori turned to Kurita, they saw that he was carrying seven bags full of pastry boxes and a two-layered strawberry cake. All three stated, "That's Amazing!" (Pretty sure that they are talking about different things).

Somehow, all of the pastries were cluttered onto the small table that was in the club said. "Yay! It's Sena-kun and Mamori-san's welcome party!" Kurita said happily munching on one of the pastries. Mamori immediately stated that all of the pastries were from Kariya, her favourite pastry shop. Kurita and Mamori were happily talking about Kariya's pastries while Sena just looked at the mountain of cakes in front of him, not really sure what to do. Hiruma slid opened the door with her foot as she carried in a box than she kicked the edge of the table, which knocked off every single pastry and stating that it's time to get started. Luckily, Kurita managed to save the two-layered strawberry cake. "The strategy for the upcoming match," Hiruma stated as she flipped the tabletop, revealing that the underside had a layout of an Amefuto field. Mamori immediately shouted at Hiruma "Why Did You Toss the Cakes All the Sudden?! Why Are You so Selfish?" Hiruma completely ignored the other girl as she was opening the box. Kurita stated while munching on the pastry that was already in his mouth, "It looks like the arguments are a natural occurrence." Sena stated that it scary that he's getting used to it.

Hiruma dumped the contents of the box onto the table; turns out the contents of the box were a bunch of miniature figurines of the Deimon Devilbats and the opposing team. Both Sena and Kurita were amazed by how detailed all of the figures were. Hiruma stated that she made those models for fun all of the last night. (Why is it that I don't believe her…). Hiruma quickly lined up all the figurines into a formation and started going over the game plan for the match. It was just giving the ball to Eyeshield 21 and having him run through the opposing team. It was a pretty iffy plan and Sena didn't like it at all. With fear in his eyes, Sena said "I knew that would happen next… And it sure is frightening as hell…" Mamori immediately stated "Why are you so scared, Sena? Don't you think it should be that Eyeshield person that should be scared? With that little body of his, facing the enemy like that. Sena-kun should learn more from him a little." Sena and Kurita weren't really sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she didn't notice the very obvious similarities between Eyeshield 21 and Sena. The speedster nervously asked Hiruma "It'd be okay if Mamori-neechan knows the truth…" Hiruma pointed a pistol to Sena's side and said "Shut the hell up! You're placing yourself in danger. Not one word!" Mamori immediately shouted at Hiruma to stop picking on Sena.

Kurita picked up one of the figurines and said to Hiruma "But we can't just run all the time… We can't do without passing. What if it's third-down and 10 yards to go?" Hiruma with her legs on top of the table stated with the board tone "Who do you think can catch them?" Sena immediately asked what third-down was. Kurita was about to explain when Mamori said as she pulled out an Amefuto manual, "I'll lend this to Sena. I spent all day reading it." Kurita was amazed as Sena stated that it was to be expected of a studious person. Hiruma, on the other hand, stating in an insulting tone "So you're saying that you know the rules inside out from just one night?" Mamori immediately challenged by saying that she remembers all of it. "Oh… So you'll be able to answer any questions I give you?" Hiruma stated almost in a mocking tone before she held up three fingers and said "I got three events level questions, if you get more than one wrong, you'll stop opposing me," an evil glint appeared in the She-Devil's eyes. "Eh… That's fine with me. And in return, if I answer the questions correctly, you'll promise me this! STOP HARASSING SENA!" Mamori stated getting ready for a battle with the devil. Kurita muttered to Sena "It feels like a frighteningly violent room…"And Sena agreed.

As the two girls were about to fight (Well… As far as Mamori knows, Hiruma's a guy), Kurita decided to explain what a third-down was to Sena, "You see Amefuto is like baseball, in that both teams exchange offensive and defensive positions. Both teams get for chances to attack." Sena timidly stated that it looks like a match was about to start right now. Kurita continued "The offence's goal is to advance 10 yards," as he started drawing on the table with an erasable marker in order to show Sena what he was talking about.

Hiruma was holding a Tommy gun (Seriously? Where does she keep all these guns? And I'm sure that the gun she's holding is a Tommy Gun, look up a picture of one and look at the gun Hiruma's holding in this scene if you don't believe me) and sat on the table and her be on the chair that she was sitting on and said " Tthe aimFirst question… How many meters are there in 10 yards?" Mamori scoffed and stated "That's very easy. It's approximately 9 meters." Hiruma aimed the Tommy gun at Mamori and stated "This is not American yards. You'll have to give the exact number with the decimal point." Mamori quickly shouted how it was relevant to Amefuto rules. Mamori quickly calculated that the exact number of meters within 10 yards, which was 9.440189 meters. Hiruma got pissed.

Kurita continued to explain to Sena "So these 10 yards, if it's the offense fourth time, it's the fourth-down, they get a new set of downs. If they can't, both sides which are offensive and defensive positions. Basically a turnover." When Hiruma shouted question 2, both Kurita and Sena sweatdropped. Firing the Tommy gun into the ceiling Hiruma shouted "A DEFENSIVE AND OFFENSIVE SITUATION! IT'S THE FOURTH DOWN AND 10 YARDS TO GO FOR THE OFFENSE, HOW WOULD THEY ADVANCE THE BALL UNDER THIS SITUATION? TOWARDS THE END OF THE FIRST HALF, HOW WOULD THE DEFENSE GET THE BALL BACK?" Mamori shouted back "THEY ARE TRYING TO SCORE! WHEN THE PUNTED BALL IS CAUGHT, OR IF THE KICKBALL IS OUT OF BOUNDS, AND AFTER THE BALL IS TOUCHED, THE TIME WILL STOP!" This actually surprised both Kurita and Sena. Kurita continued to explain as he moved the figurines into two rows "And so after the offence and defence switched positions, the offence and defence of face each other and try to advance to the goal that they are facing." Sena said that it sort of felt like a tug-of-war. Sena looked at the figures and said "There isn't much room when you face off with each other… How will you be able to get through?" Kurita happily said "Leave that to me next! I'll be in an offence a position to block and opened a root," then he flexed his muscles and stated, "This position is for the World 's Strongest!" Sena stated that was his worst skill. With a smug look on her face, Mamori said " Tthe Last Question!"

"Hey… I'm gonna work out," Hiruma stated as she walked out the door as if the whole questionnaire match never existed. Both Sena and Kurita sweatdropped as they watched the She-Devil leave the shed as Mamori shouted for Hiruma to hold on. (… Seriously, what just happened?)

~}i{~

Inside the school's gym, which was filled with all sorts of workout gear. Hiruma, already wearing her jersey (Where she got changed without anyone noticing is beyond me), stated to Mamori that the manager has to be a trainer as well. Kurita, also in his jersey, stated that he'll teach Sena how to bench-press. "You'll have to lie down and said your hands and your legs. We'll start you off with the lightweights," Kurita said with a smile as he led Sena to the barbell stand. Hiruma said to set the barbell and 20 kg. The She-Devil slid on two 5 kg onto the metal bar, one on each side. Pretty much as soon as Sena got the barbell off the rest, it nearly crushed his throat. Mamori immediately tried to get the barbell off of Sena's neck, although it was Kurita who managed to get it off of Sena. After removing the extra 10 kg, Sena was able to hold up the bar, which only weighed about 10 kg.

Character Data :;: Name: Kobayakawa Sena, Team: Deimon Devilbats: (Officially) Secretary (Unofficially) Running Back, Bench Press Record: 10 kg.

Mamori asked "Is it was that heavy? I'm going to give it a shot, okay?" Mamori said as the bar was returned to the rest. Kurita started putting on the bar the two 5 kg weights and said to Mamori, who was lying on the bench under the barbell, "Well… Let's start off with the same weight, 20 kg." Mamori asked if Kurita was sure about that. Mamori was able to lift the barbell, but just barely.

Character Data :;: Name: Anezaki Mamori, Team: Deimon Devilbats; Manager, Bench Press Record: 20 kg. Kurita and Sena were amazed, while Hiruma stated "Even a woman can lift it up." (Pretty sure she said that to insult Sena).

Character Data :;: Name: Hiruma Youichi, Team: Deimon Devilbats; Quarterback, Bench Press Record: 75 kg. Sena was awestruck, that was 55 kg more then what Mamori could lift. 'It's amazing that she can lift that much with those thin arms of hers,' Sena thought with a slight blush. Good thing no one noticed that.

Character Data :;: Name: Kurita Ryoukan, Team: Deimon Devilbats; Lineman, Bench Press Record: 160 kg. 'He's way too strong!' Sena mentally thought.

~}i{~

At Oujou High's gym. Someone set a barbell on the rest stand.

Character Data :;: Name: Sakuraba Haruto, Team: Oujou White Knights, Bench Press Record: 50 kg.

Sakuraba was drinking from a water bottle as he told Shin "You're amazing as always."

Character Data :;: Name: Shin Seijuurou, Team: Oujou White Knights, Bench Press Record: 140 kg. Shin was panting as sweat roll down his forehead.

"Bahahaha! Finally, I can release! The White Knights are very well known for our power and to take people down!" Character Data :;: Name: Ootawara Makoto, Team: Oujou White Knights, Bench Press Record: 135 kg. Ootawara was a tall muscular teen with short black hair and was wearing the workout uniform for Oujou High. Ootawara smiled and stated happily "Here comes… Gas!" As he farted, the poor teammate that had the unfortunate luck of being behind Ootawara passed out from the horrid smell. (Eew… I feel sorry for that poor soul).

Shin said with a serious tone "There are things that… You cannot speak with power alone." Ootawara picked his nose as he said "So you're saying that you've only got power? The fastest among the high schools," then he laughed and stated "Shin's tackles stomp our enemies to the ground! Everyone calls it a 'Spear'. Your tackle is like a deadly killing technique." At the moment Shin didn't say anything.

~}i{~

Back at Deimon High. Sena walked outside and said to no one particular "Ha!... I really have no power… Nope. I need to do my best to get used to this ball. I need to practice catching." He gripped the Amefuto ball.

~}i{~

Back at Oujou Private High. Shin said to Ootawara "Even though it is very arrogant of me to say this… I… Have yet to see a person who is faster than me."

~}i{~

Sena toss the ball high into the air, rather poorly.

~}i{~

Shin continued "However if such a man exists, it's such an untouchable person appeared before us."

~}i{~

Sena darted at his max speed in order to catch the ball before it lands.

~}i{~

Shin closed his eyes and said, "Power alone wouldn't be enough to overcome that speed."

~}i{~

Sena got in catching range of the falling ball but missed it by a couple of good centimetres.

~}i{~

It was the day of the game. Oujou White Knights vs. Deimon Devilbats. A TV crew and a hoard of female students were waiting outside of the entrance to the Amefuto field entrance, waiting. Two buses pulled up in front of the school, and along with some of the supplies onboard. The entire White Knights Amefuto team walked off of the buses. By the time Sakuraba got to the door, he was practically assaulted by a sea of flashing lights by all of the cameras of all of the girls that were there. (Eesh, talk about unwanted attention…)

The Deimon Devilbats made quite an entrance as well. Four of the temporary players were covered in bone-shaped doggy treats and were pulling two carts, which held the rest of the Devilbats team members, all but Hiruma were either had a look of embarrassed or nervous. Not too far away, Cerberus was chasing the four with the dog treats. Hiruma cracked a whip and shouted, "Faster or You'll Get Bitted." (It's actually not surprising that Hiruma would do that kind of thing…)

~}i{~

The sun was shining and a crowd gathered for the upcoming match, most of the people in the crowd where teenage girls. Sena was surprised by the sheer number of girls on the bleachers, all with some type of camera, as he said, "Why is the district tournament like this…" Kurita simply replied, "It's because of Sakuraba-kun." Oh, right, the teen was a model was on the White Knights. There was even a television crew at the stadium to record the events of the game.

With the White Knights, Coach Shōji said the team helpers (Caterers, maybe?) "Alright! Two more hours till the game. This will be their last snack! Carbs and vitamin C! Their energy will be maintained precisely!" As the caterers handed each of the White Knight team members a box of delicious-looking food. Now with the Devilbats, Sena saw that and commented, "I can sense the gap between the rich and the poor…" One of the temporary Devilbats, a member of the basketball club named Satake, rubbed his stomach, looking over at the opposing team, and said "Damn it! I'm getting hungry when I look over there." Mamori held out a neatly wrapped bento box and said politely "These aren't very lavish… But they are homemade. If you guys don't mind." What Mamori opened the bento box, there were 23 perfectly made onigiri, and one of them looked a bit like Kurita's head. Soon all of the Devilbats team members, with the exception of Hiruma, were eating the onigiris and stating that they were really good. Some of the members of the White Knights looked at the Devilbats in confusion.

~}i{~

Ootawara was eating his snack when he noticed that Shin wasn't eating his. He asked his teammate "What's wrong, you're not going to eat? You haven't touched it." Shin simply replied "Sorry, but since I take in the required nutrients with meals on a regular schedule… I can't eat anything else." Ootawara grinned, took Shin's bento, and stated that he'll take it then. One of Shin's teammates noticed this, sighed, and walked over towards Shin. This teammate was 182.88cm tall (or 6ft exactly), was already wearing the Amefuto uniform for the White Knights, had on a pair of glasses with silver frames, had short black hair that was to the neck and slick back; although, there were two hairclips, one on each side of the player's head, with the insignia of the Oujou Private High School on them that held back some of the hair so that they wouldn't fall into the player's face. This teammate was wearing jersey #3. While holding a bento in one hand, with the chopstick carefully placed on top of it, and resting the other hand on the inside of their elbow. Jersey #3 stood in front of Shin. He looked up at his teammate. "Honestly Shin, it wouldn't kill you if ate something outside that eating schedule of yours. It doesn't have to be anything big, just something small, like a cracker or something along that line," jersey #3 said in a tone that would be similar to that of an older sibling. Ootawara swallowed the food that was in his mouth and said, "Aww come on Takami~chan, if he said he doesn't want ta eat it, don't force him."

Character Data :;: Name: Ichigo Takami, Team: Oujou White Knights; The Only Female Player on the Team (not including the team manager), 40 Yard Dash; 6.0 Seconds, Bench Press Record: 65 kg.

Takami sighed and said "What I'm trying to say is that it's fine to treat yourself once and a while. It's not going to kill you." Shin closed his eyes and stated, "As I said before, I take the required nutrients on…" A pair of chopsticks shoved a piece of sushi into Shin's mouth as he was talking. Shin wasn't sure how to react to that. Takami smiled and said as she retracted her chopsticks from Shin's mouth "See, nothing bad happened. You don't have to do this every day, maybe once a week or so." Shin turned a shade of pink that was barely noticeable from his skin tone as he started to chew the food in his mouth. Completely satisfied that her point had been made, Takami left to return to her seat. Ootawara merely continued eating the food, not really getting what the only female player on the team was talking about. Shin watched was Takami ate her food with the very chopsticks she used to shove the sushi into his mouth; Shin turned slightly pink and thought 'That was an indirect kiss.' (Wonder if Takami's aware of that? … Probably not.)

~}i{~

Tons of fangirls were snapping pictures of Sakuraba as he was eating. One of them commented that he was so cool when he was eating. (That sounds very stalkerish to me. Cre~epy~). The teen idol tried his best to ignore them as he ate his snack. Someone called out to Sakuraba and he looked towards the direction of that person. A man with black hair that was slicked back, square glasses, a white shirt, a pink striped suit, a black-and-white checkered tie, had on a golden ring on his right index finger, and when he smiled he had a golden tooth. Character Data :;: Miracle Itou, Jari-Pro's President. With a smile Miracle Itou said "The TV crew wants to interview you so…. Enough with the food, get over there." Sakuraba shoves the rest of what he was eating into his mouth as he started to head to the camera crew before Itou grabbed a hold of him, telling Sakuraba to hold on a minute, and placing a visor on Sakuraba's head and stated "I've always told you, haven't I? Always put on your sponsor hat when you're on TV!" Sakuraba had the look on his face that practically said I-can't-believe-I-have-to-wear-something-like-this. Miracle Itou said "Oh, I will also attach one to the helmet," as he stuck a sticker of a golden star with a hamburger in the centre on to Sakuraba's Amefuto helmet.

A female reporter was interviewing Sakuraba as the cameraman focused on the teen idol. "That's an incredible cheer from the fans, don't you think? It's a cheer for the ace Sakuraba-san, the head of the White Knights!" The reporter stated in a cheerful tone. Sakuraba had an expression that similar to someone getting their heart broken; although, the camera crew didn't seem to notice. After a few seconds, Sakuraba finally said "I'm not the one who will be leading… Are true ace is…" The reporter interrupted by the stating that he was being modest as she poked his cheek. The cameraman sweatdropped while the sports expert tried to get the reporter away from Sakuraba.

~}i{~

Ootawara looked over at the spectator stands from where he was sitting, then he stated "Ah ha! They came after all!" He stood up, with his boxers to his knees (… Isn't public indecency against the law? And there are two ladies present on the team might I add) Coach Shouji immediately stated "Never mind that! Pull up your boxers!"

~}i{~

Nine students wearing what looks to be traditional monk robes climb the staircase to the top of the stands. The sports expert look at the students of then looked at a notebook he had in his pocket and said "It's Shinryūji Naga. According to this, both Naga and the White Knights are the two greatest team in Kantou." The report stated happily "Then, we should ask them a thing or two." After the reporter, sports expert, and the cameraman got to the top of the stands, the reporter asked if the Nagas had a moment. The reporter asked with a smile "You're here to scout Sakuraba-kun, right?" The Nagas looked at one another for a second or two before the Naga student with dreadlocks and sunglasses stated in a playfully mocking tone "That's right! We're scouting Sakuraba-kun!" One of the Naga students tried to stop a snicker from coming out but failed. While two of the other Nagas were wondering if the reporter was talking about the teen idol on the White Knights. After the reporter and her crew went back to the field she stated, "Other schools also came to see Sakuraba-kun." It didn't seem as though the reporter knew that the student was lying. The Naga student with dreadlocks asked aloud where Shin was while an older looking student, who kind of like an adult, with short spiky black hair, thick black eyebrows with a scar over his left eye and another scar under that same eye, and kind and had a 5 o'clock shadow on his chin and under his nose told the Naga student with the video camera to record all of Shin's plays. Sakuraba knew that the Nagas weren't here for him at all.

~}i{~

With the Devilbats. Hiruma hit the butt of her AK-47 onto the ground in front of her and shouted to the other Devilbats "LISTEN UP, BASTARD! TODAY'S GAME HAS A DIFFERENT FEEL FROM THE PREVIOUS ONE. WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO PLAY AMEFUTO. THIS IS WAR!" One on the helpers stated nervously "Which means Shin will probably play, right? We should seriously go home." Another helper stated, "I don't want to remember last year's practice game." Sena asked Kurita if something happened last year. Kurita replied with "Two of our helpers got broken bones." Sena wondered if it was because of this Shin person. Still gripping onto the barrel of her AK-47, Hiruma stated nonchalantly "Relax. Eyeshield 21 will have the ball. Shin will be tackling him only." While the helpers were stating that they were completely relieved, Sena was mentally screaming.

As he crawled on the ground, Sena grabbed his bag and thought 'I Have to Escape! This is unreasonable! I absolutely have to escape!' A helper stated to Ishimaru "We could retaliate and get revenge for the broken bones. Wouldn't you like to do that?" Ishimaru replied "That's true! We did make it to the second round. If we ran away like this, it would be way too humiliating." Sena was behind the wall when he heard that. Another helper stated, "If it's Eyeshield 21, I somehow feel like things will turn out right." Another helper stated "That's right. He's from Notre Dame!" Now Sena was starting to feel terrible that he was leaving his teammates. Sena darted out of the stadium anyway.

~}i{~

The sportscaster stated over the intercom that the game will start soon.

~}i{~

Hiruma noticed that Sena was missing and shouted at Mamori "HEY, WHERE DID THAT F*ING CHIBI GO!" Mamori was utterly surprised by Hiruma's indecent manner of speech, but she got over that quickly and said "If you're talking about Sena, he went to buy a videotape. Don't you dare say that he's not doing his job!" As she showed Hiruma the text message that Sena sent her. A dark aura surrounded Hiruma's entity, (Oh, the Grim Reaper came back), as she stated in a killing tone "YOU F*ING ESCAPED! DIDN'T YOU~~!?" Kurita was utterly frightened. "CERBERUS!" Hiruma called and the devil dog emerged from his titanium enforced kennel but was still had heavy chains attached to his spiked collar. Hiruma pulled a strand of hair in a piece of plastic with Sena's name on it from a box of smell samples (Not asking where or when she acquired all of those). She held out their small sample of Sena next to a doggie treat, basically telling Cerberus that if we brought back the person that matches the small sample he gets the treat. Hiruma cut the chains with a giant axe (Where... Never mind, I probably don't want to know the answer to that anyway), releasing the devil dog to start the chase.

Within a few seconds, there was a sound that indicated that Cerberus has caught someone. Hiruma was kind of surprised when she said "Huh? Found him ready?" Cerberus was dragging Eyeshield 21 by the leg. Ishimaru was surprised but happily stated that it was Eyeshield 21. One of the helpers stated "What an elaborate way of making an entrance!" The one I was most surprised of the Devilbats was Hiruma. Kurita ran up to Eyeshield 21/Sena and whispered, "Sena-kun, I thought you had left…" Sena managed to reply back with a modest tone "Well… Everyone became so motivated… It would have been laying for the Notre Dame Hero to run away." Then Sena whispered "Even though the true identity of the novice false hero is just an errand boy… I would like to give it my best shot." Kurita was moved by that speech. Hiruma gave Sena a very hard kick to his lower back (That looked like it hurt…). Sena immediately asked "What? Why is Hiruma so mad?" As Hiruma called a huddle. Kurita explained to Sena that Hiruma wasn't mad; although, Sena didn't really understand.

~}i{~

On the White Knight side of the field. Ootawara was in the centre of the White Knight's huddle as he started the oath of the White Knights "We pledge victory on our knight's pride. We did not come to fight our enemy, we came to beat them!"

~}i{~

Now with Hiruma's huddle speech "We didn't come to fight our enemy. We came to slaughter them." (Wow, Hiruma really does look like the devil with that expression)

~}i{~

Devilbats: Let's Kick Their…

White Knights: Glory on the…

White Knights: Kingdom!

Devilbats: Asses! YA~HA.

The sportscaster announced "The time has come for the kickoff! I wonder how many points the Oujou White Knights will lead by?"

~}i{~

Almost as soon as Hiruma caught the kickoff ball, she was tackled to the ground. The female reporter shouted, "Way to go Sakuraba-kun!" The cameraman quickly told the reporter "Sakuraba is on the bench. He's an offensive player." The assistant of the TV crew stated "The White Knights are on the defensive now, right? Doesn't she understand…" Hiruma casually tossed the ball into the air and stated "Heh heh. As expected, it's not going to be like the Koigahama game." Kurita noticed that Shin was sitting on the bench.

The Naga student with the video camera was stated other Nagas "Ack! Shin is on the bench! They really don't need him since they're playing Deimon, but…" The dreadlock student stated "Seriously? I came for nothing!"

Hiruma grinned and stated, "Here is our chance!" She turned to Sena and shouted "Eyeshield 21" that maybe got Sena's attention. Hiruma continued by saying "Everyone in this damn stadium is taking us for fools; they think the White Knights will take the 100-0." She pointed at Sena and shouted, "GO KNOCK THEM OUT OF THEIR SEATS!"

~}i{~

Both teams went into the formation. Hiruma called out "Set! Hut, Hut."

The reporter asked the sports expert why they were saying 'Hut' a lot. He explained "It's the starting signal. It's been decided how many times he says 'hut' in advance so these spikes are different…"

Sena pressed his foot against the ground as he thought 'So the spikes are different… I can press hard on the ground. I want… To quickly try these out!' Hiruma said the final hut, and Kurita handed off the ball to Hiruma, signalling the start of the play. Once Hiruma handed Sena the ball, he immediately sped off, tearing up the terrain as he blew by everyone. Two of the White Knights managed to force Sena to turn. Ootawara, wearing the White Knight's #60 Jersey pushed away from the Devil Bat lineman and when after Eyeshield 21. When Ootawara saw that the running back was gripping the ball with just his right hand, he immediately slapped the ball away. Both Hiruma and Coach Shouji shouted at their respective teams to get the ball. Faster than you can say dogpile, all available players except for Eyeshield 21 when after the ball. At the bottom of the pile, Kurita had the ball gripped in his arm, Ootawara was upset at that. Hiruma stated, "That was dangerous!" Ishimaru added, "Only Kurita doesn't lose in a match of strength."

~}i{~

Coach Shouji immediately asked Takami "Eyeshield 21? He's the one that wasn't on the video, right?" With her right hand on her hip and a clipboard in the other, Takami said as she looked at the clipboard "He made the combat touchdown at Koigahama game. Why wasn't he used until the one last play?" Coach Shouji turned towards Sakuraba and Shin and asked, "What do you guys think about that #21?" Sakuraba stated that he thought that #21 was pretty fast. Shin stated "I can't be certain from watching just one play, but he's probably a touch amefuto player. A self-taught player who has been playing for years without instruction." Coach Shouji stated with a surprised "I see." Sakuraba immediately asked what touch amefuto was and Takami immediately explained that it was amefuto except instead of tackling you touch the person to stop and that protective gear wasn't needed. Shin also added "That way of changing directions can't be learned in a day. Therefore, he can't be an amateur, but I sensed fear in the way he runs. He has an extreme fear of collisions. Dodging the enemy… Is not the same as running away. He's not a threat to us yet." Coach Shouji was impressed that she and good deduce that much from one play. Sakuraba asked Shin "And… How do you know he didn't have an instructor?" Both Coach Shouji and Shin stated at the same time "The way he holds the ball is wrong."

~}i{~

Hiruma walked over to Eyeshield 21/Sena, with the ball in hand, and stated towards him "You there, how are you holding the ball when you run?" Eyeshield 21 took the ball from Hiruma, holding it in his right hand gripping the lower part of the ball not touching the laces as he said "… How? The normal way, like this…" Hiruma got mad at the running back, snatched the ball out of his grip, hit them over the head with the point of the ball, and shouted "YOU F*ING CHIBI! IT'S A WONDER THAT THE BALL DOESN'T GET TAKEN!" As Eyeshield 21/Sena was rubbing his head, Hiruma explained to him how to properly hold the ball, "Hold between the fingers and tucked it under your armpit!" She showed Sena exactly what she said before she handed the ball to Eyeshield 21/Sena, who repeated the movement precisely.

~}i{~

Back in the stands. The adult looking student with short spiky black hair, thick black eyebrows with a scar over his left eye and another scar under that same eye, and kind and had a 5 o'clock shadow on his chin and under his nose asked the student with the deadlocks, who was currently looking through a pair of binoculars, "Agon, what do you think of that one?" Dreadlocks, or Agon, stated plainly "Even in an unknown team like the Devilbats, there are rare finds like that one." Through the binoculars, Agon was looking at Mamori, who was sitting on the bench on the Devil Bat's side of the field. Thinking that Agon was talking about Eyeshield 21, the older student said, "Those are nice leg." Agon nodded and replied "Yeah, Yamabushi-sempai, nice legs. Makes me want them." Agon focused the binoculars on Mamori's lower half and added "You can tell even with the clothes on. Nice waste." The older student, Yamabushi, immediately snatched the binoculars away from Agon and practically shouted "Agon, I'm jeal… I mean, disappointed that you're not even paying attention to the game." Agon didn't seem to mind that his upperclassman was angry at him when he stated "Yeah yeah, you're talking about that Eyeshield, right? In a minor team, there is a slightly faster new. That's all." Agon slid his sunglasses back onto his face and added, "There's really no use when the line's made up of amateurs like that."

~}i{~

The same female reporter asked the sports expert "…So what's this 'Line' thing?" (Honestly, why is she covering an Amefuto game when she doesn't even know the basics of the sport, or at least pretend to know them). The sports expert explained "It's the guys in the front line who protect the runner if they suck, everything's hopeless. No matter how fast the runner is, he can't get past the other team without the line's support."

~}i{~

Inside the Devil Bat's huddle, Hiruma was going over the plan "Ok, it's the same as before, Eyeshield 21 will run past the right side of the line. YOU GUYS IN THE LINE HAVE TO BLOCK!" That pretty much took up the team. The helpers basically stated that the power difference was too great and that it was impossible. Hiruma plainly stated "A bunch of amateurs couldn't possibly stop the White Knights. So I'm not expecting a perfect block." The She-Devil held out her right hand with all four of her fingers and thumb splayed open and stated "0.5 seconds. Each of you must delay your assigned target for 0.5 seconds. During that time, Eyeshield 21 will run through!"

Kurita rushed over towards Eyeshield 21/Sena and said happily "The White Knight's defence is probably #1 in Japan. Getting past it alone is probably difficult, but the line and Ishimaru-kun think of us as your shields!" With that said Sena could easily picture all of the linemen as shields (Sena has quite the vivid imagination).

~}i{~

Both teams went into their formation. With Sena still imagining the Deval Bats as shields. One of Sena's feet slid back slightly, and when he noticed that he thought 'That's right… Those spikes are great! There's no slipperiness. Feels really safe. It's like my feet are protected…' Sena easily imagined his legs and armour. 'I learn the proper way to hold this to. The ball feels really secure.' Sena was holding the ball exactly the way Hiruma showed them to do and can easily imagine his arm in a metal gauntlet. 'I can do this! Maybe…' Sena thought with uncertainty. "HUT!" Hiruma called and then Kurita passed off the ball to the quarterback. All the Devil Bat linemen were doing their best to hold off the White Knights. As Sena ran down the field, one of the White Knights tried to run after him but was blocked by Ishimaru. Eyeshield 21/Sena sped through the entire White Knights defence. Shin saw this and thought 'The fear has disappeared from his running.'

Sportscaster: 30 yards 'til the goal.

'It's useless once you been outrun. There's no way to stop that speed' Shin thought as Eyeshield 21 past the 20-yard mark.

Sportscaster: 10 yards!

Every single person in the stands and teams (minus Hiruma of course) were utterly flabbergasted by the fact that #21 was running towards the goal at such a speed. The reporter spoke to her microphone "Something most unexpected has occurred one minute since the game-opening, the first points have been scored by Deimon's Devilbats!" The sportscaster shouted the word touchdown. Kurita and Hiruma had smiles on their face while everyone who wasn't on the Devilbat's side was in complete shock.

~}i{~

The score was now 6-0 in favour of the Devilbats. The Devilbats were completely ecstatic and were congratulating Eyeshield 21 on his touchdown. The fangirls were in complete shock that their favourite teen idol's team was falling behind, one of them thought that the team lost a ready, while another one stated that it was the other players on the team who was at fault (Seriously? The game literally just began and they are already talking like that? Honestly, are the Naga the only ones in the stands that actually came to watch the game? ... They probably are, actually). The sports expert looked at his notebook and stated "In the past year, the only team that scored a touchdown against the White Knights is Shinryūji. The first time since then." The reporter was shocked at that piece of information.

~}i{~

Coach Shōji threw his cup to the ground and shouted "DAMN! WHAT AN EMBARRASSMENT! AND AGAINST DEIMON!" Shin stated calmly, but seriously "Coach, I misjudged the opponent. He was possibly specially trained for many years to run. 40 yards (36 m) and 4.6 seconds, incredible speed and those superhuman direction changes… If he's new at Amefuto with that."

~}i{~

"Wow, Amazing!" Ishimaru said happily, while another helper said with joy "He got past those guys all by himself! I'm jealous! You were great!" Before Eyeshield 21/Sena could reply, he realized that he needed to change his voice or everyone will know who he really is. Sena lowered his voice a little too much when he said, "No, the score was…" It kind of scared the helper members. Sena quickly adjusted his voice yet again, but this time not so deep "No, this score was thanks to everyone's strength. If you guys didn't block, I couldn't have run till the end." Sena was hoping that it sounded like someone from Notre Dame. The Devilbat helpers were completely amazed by how cool Eyeshield 21 was; even Hiruma was amazed by Sena's enthusiasm.

Mamori was sitting on the bench looking at a clipboard that had the stats of Eyeshield 21. She said aloud to no one in particular "This Eyeshield person is incredible, he has never been tackled before! Too bad….I wanted Sena to see this! And tell him that he can do this even if he's small! I wonder where he went shopping…" (No comment…)

Back in the spectator stands. Yamabushi said to Agon "That Eyeshield is really something…" Agon said in an arrogant tone "Well, that was amazing, but what just happened was White Knights' #93 fault." Yamabushi asked who #93 was and Agon replied, "The idiot who is playing centre for Shin." Then Agon started drawing a piece of Amefuto information on the seat they were sitting on, Yamabushi told his junior classmate not to draw on the bench as Agon explained "The block from just now was kind of like, #93 started too late, and got caught by Kurita, some so guys who have nothing except strength. If it was Shin, he could've easily got to that Eyeshield." Yamabushi folded his arms and said "Shin wasn't there, so they use that to their advantage. They avoided the centre protected by Ootawara, and one from the outside instead. Good decision." Looking through the binoculars again Agon stated arrogantly "Ha! It was nothing like that! It was just a coincidence, as a lucky punch. A team like the Devilbats doesn't have that kind of knowledge." Agon aimed his binoculars at the Devilbat player wearing the #1 jersey, whom by the way was sporting an evil grin (Anyone gets the feeling that Agon seems to be underestimating Hiruma's intelligence? Hmmm, wonder if Agon's aware of Hiruma's real gender?). Agon pulled the binoculars away from his eyes and stated to his upperclassman "That Hiruma bastard just got lucky." (That answers that. You'd think with his entire girl watching expertise he would notice something. Guess he just assumes that Hiruma is a guy as well).

~}i{~

Hiruma called out to all the Devilbats "Everyone gather around! We're going to try-for-point!" Senna was trying to remember what a try-for-point was from the world book Mamori gave him. (Since I don't feel like writing Sena's memory sequence, I'll just tell you. A try-for-point is the chance to score extra points after a touchdown is made, kind of like a bonus game. The team is going for a try-for-point gets one chance to attack 3 yards from the enemy goal line. There are two ways to do this. 1) kicked the ball, make it in the field goal, and score 1 point. 2) Make a touchdown, and you score 2 points. I'll right back to the story). Inside the huddle, Hiruma told the Devilbats "Alright, we'll go for try-for-point with a kick. Nobody else knows how to kick, so I'll kick, however… I don't mean to brag, but my kick has power, but no aim." Hiruma snatched the kicking tee out of Mamori's hands and handed it to Eyeshield 21.

~}i{~

With the White Knights. Ootawara was obviously annoyed. Sakuraba said to Shin "It's unusual for Ootawara-san to be blocked. I guess it's difficult when one's against two people even if they're amateurs." Shin replied "No, he's not weak. If he tried, then to guys would be nothing against him." Coach Shōji added "I shouldn't have let Ootawara cover centerfield. He had no clue what he was doing." Takami said in a tone that sounded similar to someone saying I-don't-want-to-hurt-anyone's-feelings-even-if-it-is-the-truth, "He's not good at things that are complicated." Sakuraba added "He's not a deep thinker… I mean he has…" Takami nodded, knowing exactly what Sakuraba was trying to imply. Coach Shōji stated for everyone to hear "Stupid. He's just stupid." Both Sakuraba and Takami thought practically at the same time 'Oh, he said it…' Coach Shōji said in a serious tone "That's his forte!" Ootawara was confusing himself with his own thoughts about the try-for-point. Coach Shōji shouted at Ootawara "DON'T THINK! YOU ONLY HAVE ONE JOB TO DO! YOU'RE STUPID! SO JUST SHUT UP AND CHARGE IN!" Ootawara looked at his coach for a second or so before flashing a very big grin and said "That's right, why my trying to think? It doesn't matter if they kick over. All I gotta do is blow them away!"

~}i{~

Eyeshield 21 set up the kicking tee as Hiruma shouted "Set!" Over the cheering of the crowd. Sena was still able to hear his heartbeat over them as he thought back to Hiruma's plan. Kurita handed off the ball to Eyeshield 21, who was barely able to catch it, and place it on the kicking tee. As the White Knights line closed in on them, Eyeshield 21 grabbed the ball of the kicking tee and started running. Someone from the White Knight shouted "FAKE! HE RAN!" Eyeshield 21/Sena ran as he pictured the Devilbats' lineman as shields. Ootawara practically smashed through the lineman that were blocking him and ran towards Eyeshield 21, then two more of the White Knight lineman followed suit, thus causing Eyeshield 21 two run out of bounds. Hiruma stated in a matter-of-fact kind of tone "That couldn't be helped; at least I threw in a fake. With our abilities, it was impossible from the start." Mamori looked through the video camera as she said to no one in particular "The Devilbats are in the lead with 6-0. The kickoff, their switching between offence and defence." Mamori aims the video camera at Hiruma, who was kicking off, she followed the ball as it flew through the air and hit the sports expert for the news crew right in the head and knocking him out cold (I'm pretty sure that's going to leave one heck of a bump). Ishimaru and the other helpers thought at the exact same time 'He really only has power…' While Eyeshield 21/Sena thought 'She's a lot stronger than she looks.' Kurita noted that they really needed a kicker and Hiruma immediately stated "No we don't! Stop talking about him like that!"

~}i{~

The sports expert managed to regain consciences as he noted that they were switching players for Oujou's offence. It took a second or two for the reporter to realize that Oujou's offence meant that Sakuraba was going into the game. Every single fangirl that was there cheered at the top of their lungs and for the ones that brought their cameras, taking pictures. The reporter practically shouted into a mic "HE HAS FINALLY APPEARED! IT'S OUJOU'S ACE, HARUTO SAKURABA-KUN!" (Does anyone else think they're being a little too overzealous about this? Poor Sakuraba…)

~}i{~

Inside the Devilbats' huddle, Hiruma stated before going over the plan "Everyone listened, with our sorry excuse for defence, there's no way we could stop the White Knights. There's 100% chance we'll fail to stop them when they pass the ball or run, so without you might pass…" The cheering made it hard for an outsider to hear what they were talking about. Kurita stated that the plan was insane and Hiruma nonchalantly stated "Insanely perfect. There is no coincident in Amefuto. You have to aim when you pull out a lucky punch!" She practically grinned at that last line.

~}i{~

*Commercial of Sakuraba selling a sandwich in the shape of a football for ¥380. At the end of the commercial, the symbol of a star with a hamburger on it appeared, American Burger*. When the commercial ended, the reporter said to the camera "Now, the moment we've been waiting for! Here is Sakuraba-kun." The audience practically roared with cheers. In the stands, the Naga student in charge of filming stated that the cheering was making his head hurt, while Agon mockingly said, "Hey, hey, since when is he the ace?" On the field, one of the referees stated that it was going to take a while until the crowd calmed down, with that Sakuraba apologized.

~}i{~

Eyeshield 21/Sena noticed that the White Knights were switching out players. Kurita explained that in Amefuto the teams usually switch players between offence and defence. Sena mentioned that their players with same as before, this cost Hiruma to angrily reply that they didn't have enough people to switch out. Sena then noticed that the only player on the White Knights that was still playing was Ootawara. Back in the stands, Agon was looking through his binoculars at Ootawara and questioned why he was playing offence. Yamabushi explained, "Of course, taking strength and weight into consideration, the only one who can oppose Kurita is him."

~}i{~

Ootawara call to Kurita as he snatched a metal score pole from a passerby. Ootawara felt the metal pole in both hands for a second or two before he bent in half and then bent to two more times. Sena was surprised that anyone to do something like that with their bare hands. Kurita picked up the pole, looked at it for a few seconds, and straightened it almost as easily as Ootawara had bent it. Kurita handed it back to the person it was originally holding it. Ootawara was amazed that Kurita managed to fix what he bent, but after a second or so he walked off laughing, much to Sena and Kurita's confusion (Umm… Did anyone understand that scene at all?).

~}i{~

The reporter announced "We are about to watch Sakuraba-kun's first game of the year! Will we witness his incredible catch?" The reporter quickly turned to the sports expert, who is now sporting a big bandage on the back of his head, and asked "Where am I supposed to watch? Who's throwing?" The sports expert pointed to the White Knights player in the #3 jersey and said "The quarterback, the person who gets the ball first. That guy, er, girl in the centre. Ichigo Takami. She's very true to the basics; that quarterback rarely makes mistakes. Her height allows her to throw accurate passes." The White Knights were 60 yards (55 m) from the goal.

~}i{~

"Mamori-san, isn't Oujou's offence formation different from ours?" asked the Devilbat in jersey #13. Devilbat in jersey #58 saw this and thought 'He's trying to talk to her?' And immediately pushed #13 out of the way and asked his upperclassman "Mamori-san, is there a formation for defence, too?" Mamori expertly explained that a defence formation changes depending on the situation and that goal-line defences are only used when the defending team is in front of the goal. Since goal line formations are completely useless to block open passes. Devilbat #50 was looking towards the field in utter confusion. Takami noticed the same thing as well. The sportscaster announced that the Devilbats were in a goal-line defence. In the stadium stands, Yamabushi stated "There's too much skill difference between the teams… Is this the only way to block the run?" Agon stated in a mocking tone "Idiots! If they pass the ball, it's all over." Back on the field, Takami noted "It makes sense… The defence blocks the run, and Kurita prevents the past before the ball's throne. That's your plan?" Ootawara and Takami stated at the same time "I won't allow it! Never!"

~}i{~

Ootawara handed the ball off to Takami. Once the White Knights' quarterback had the ball, Ootawara and Kurita engaged in a battle of strength which ended with both of them being knocked to the ground. Takami threw the ball over the entire lineman straight to Sakuraba, when the receiver caught the ball he fell to the ground. The referee called "Pass is successful! 10 yards to the goal!" All of the girls in the stand screamed. "What the heck was that? He could have caught the ball and kept running." Agon stated in total disbelief. Yamabushi noted that Sakuraba could've gone at least 20 more yards. Agon leaned back in his seat and stated with arrogance "He wasted that passed… If it were me, I'd have killed! Sakuraba, the ace, don't make me laugh…" Looking through the binoculars and looking at Sakuraba, who look to the upper crestfallen, Yamabushi stated "Don't say that… The TV and the audience are making him out to be the ace… But actually, he's probably the one suffering the most." After three successful passes and 38 yards gained the White Knights inched closer and closer until they were 12 yards (11m) from the goal. Shin noticed that something was wrong and wondered why the Devilbats they make a counterattack 'It's almost as if they want us to pass…' Shin thought as he watched Hiruma get into position.

Eyeshield 21/Sena stood behind the goal line defence of the Devilbats and he remembered what the plan that the She-devil had told him. ** "We'll pretend to give up on the pass… And let them throw as much as they walked!" Hiruma stated. Kurita and Sena were actually surprised by that plan. The She-Devil continued "If they tried to one all the way, then we don't stand a chance, but if they pass… The chance of success is small, but there's one way…" Hiruma pointed at Eyeshield 21/Sena and practically shouted "Eyeshield 21! You will intercept!" ** Ootawara handed the ball off to Takami and all linemen went into action. Sakuraba ran towards the end zone. ** "Takami is experience. She passes the ball keeping in mind where you're positioned." Hiruma explained "No matter how fast you run, you can't intercept at this distance. She makes it nearly impossible for you. ** Takami threw the ball towards Sakuraba with precision, 'This will be a touchdown!' Takami thought as the ball flew through the air. Sena kept his eye on the ball and ran toward Sakuraba in order to intercept the catch. Sakuraba was surprised by how fast Eyeshield 21 was able to catch up to him.

Sakuraba versus Eyeshield 21 (aka Sena).

~}i{~

3rd Down: Scored

~}i{~

Omake Moments:

It was time for lunch and Mamori was heading to the amefuto club shed, where Sena said he was going to be during lunch. She made him his usual school lunch since he tends to forget his lunch when he rushes to get ready for school. Mamori giggled at that and thought, 'Sena can be such a kid sometimes.' Mamori was about to open the door to the chub shed when she heard Sena whimper "Hiruma-san, this is torture." '?!' Mamori quickly pressed her ear to the door. "How the hell is this torture f*ing chibi? The reason I'm doing this is that it's your f*ing fault for f*ing forgetting in the first place," Hiruma said to Sena in an annoyed tone. Mamori's eyes widened as her mind quickly thought of the worst; Hiruma having Sena on the ground with his arms tied behind his back with his own tie, shirt torn to shreds, the fly of his pants down, and Hiruma holding an array of sex toys, 'No, Hiruma couldn't be doing that, could he?' She heard Sena emit a whine that almost sounded like he was in pain as he said, "How could you force me to do this?" Hiruma was now mad "DO YOU WANT ME TO MAKE IT F*ING WORSE FOR YOU F*ING CHIBI?!" Sena pleaded for mercy. Mamori could take no more. 'How dare that jerk Hiruma do THAT to Sena? He's still a kid and a minor too,' Mamori thought with her battle face on and ready for action. She shoved the door open, closed her eyes, and shouted "HIRUMA YOU PERVERTED JERK! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT KIND OF THING TO SENA?! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE GOING TO PRISON FOR THE SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A MINOR!" "What in the world are you talking about Mamori-neechan?" Sena asked so very innocently. Mamori opened her eyes slowly and what she saw wasn't what she imagined. Sena was sitting at the reversible top table, not on the ground tied up and half-naked, and Hiruma was across the table with only a pencil in hand. The room was silent, awkwardly silent. "Umm, w-what are y-you doing-g?" Mamori forced out rather shakily. Hiruma blinked a few times before saying "I was helping the f*ing chibi with his math homework that he forgot ta do last night. It's not hard, but this f*ing chibi is making it seem like its f*ing rocket science." "I told you, I'm not really good at math," Sena practically whined out. A vain appeared on Hiruma's brow "Of Course You F*ing Are, Especially With that F*ing Attitude." Sena sunk into his chair in complete embarrassment.

Oh, Hiruma was only helping Sena with his math homework… That didn't make any sense. "Wait, why are you even helping Sena with his homework?" Mamori asked the devil in disguise. Hiruma looked at the auburn-haired girl and said in an annoyed tone "The homework is f*ing due today in class and if the f*ing chibi doesn't have a completed by the time he gets to the classroom, he's not going to be able to participate in club activities." Okay… So there was a selfish reason for Hiruma to be helping Sena. Then an evil grin appeared on Hiruma's lips and asked in a mockingly fake innocent tone "By the way f*ing manager, what exactly were you shouting about when you came in?" Mamori immediately turned red and stated rather nervously "N-n-n-n-nothing r-real-ly." Sena blinked in total confusion.

~}i{~

Gale-Dragon: As promised, I shall tell my readers why I choose to gender-bend the characters, Character: the reason for choosing said character.

Ichiro Takami: I inadvertently confirm that Shin and Sakuraba were guys in chapter 2 so they were out. The idea of a female delinquent on the White Knights team was tempting, but Daigo Ikari doesn't actually appear until chapter 92. Ootawara's … Umm… Let's just say that he's too much himself to actually be gender-bent.

Unsui Kongō: Since other people have already done gender-bend stories on Agon and maybe a few on Ikkyu, I thought it would be an interesting idea to gender-bend Unsui. Especially since one of the main dynamics between the Kongō twins in the Eyeshield 21 storyline is the fact that they are identical, at least in appearance. That got me thinking (after I read the entire Eyeshield 21 manga series), would there be a difference if Unsui and Agon were fraternal twins? If one of them were a girl? Would the dynamics between the two change if that were so? Would their personalities be different? Would the story be changed? So many questions, so I decided to make Unsui a girl in this story. I did have to change the fact that Shinryūji isn't an all-boys school in the story, not that big of a deal, especially since there are only eight girls currently attending the school (meaning that Shinryūji is still relatively deprived of female presence). Plus I couldn't resist making Unsui (Usagi in this story) dateless her entire life because all the guys that are even remotely interested in her are completely afraid of Agon.

Jō Tetsuma: I admit, I was originally going to go for Kid to gender-bend, until I realized that all of the other characters I chose were quarterbacks. So not to go with the theme, I decided to choose a different character from the Wild Gunmen's. My next option was Riku until I remembered that school uniforms for girls (at least in most schools in Japan) require that they wear either long or short skirts. If anyone has ever ran in a skirt you'll know what I mean, especially since Riku can run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, so… Riku was out. I went with Tetsuma kind of out of the last resort and also the dynamics between Kid and Tetsuma were actually pretty cool and also by the fact that Kid's quick to defend Tetsuma from any insult.

Reiji "Marco" Maruko: Four reasons for choosing Marco to be gender-bent; 1) It is too easy to gender-bend Kisaragi (the reason for not doing him). 2) No way Gaou was getting gender-bent for any reason whatsoever. 3) Tengu's not even a candidate. 4) Potential comedy.

Kiminari Harao: Ummm…. All honestly, out of the four main players on the Taiyō Shinx (Banba, Harao, Kasamatsu, and Kamaguruma), Harao seem like the best option to gender-bend. Plus there's potential for a sub-plot.

~}i{~

(I had to split the match between the Devilbats and the White Knights into parts, I was over 11,000 words for this chapter. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome.)


	4. 4th Down: Battle Against the White Knights, Part Two

Remember:

"Talking"

'Thinking'

(Author making a comment)

*TV*

**Flashbacks**

~}i{~

4th Down: Battle Against the White Knights, Part Two

~}i{~

**Sena throws the oval ball into the air, rather poorly, and raced in the direction he threw the ball, passed it, stop right in the path of the ball, held his arms up into the air in order to catch it, and said happily "I'll catch it this time for sure." The ball hit him square in the nose and then started jumping all over the place each time it hit the ground. After Sena managed to get the ball he heard someone say "Reach out your hands! Your hands!" Sena turned towards the direction of the voice and saw Hiruma leaning against the wall in the shade. Hiruma said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "If you reach after the ball comes, it's too late. You have to be ready with your hands out!" Hiruma held out her hands and said "Pinkies together when it's a low ball," she positioned her hands accordingly, fingers spread out with pinkies slightly overlapping. "And thumbs together when it's high," she moved her hands above her head, fingers spread with a thumb slightly touching.

Sena moved the ball over his head and moved his fingers into the position Hiruma told him. Kurita and Mamori walked up to Hiruma. Mamori asked where Sena was and Hiruma quickly stated that he went to class. Sena poorly tossed the ball into the air and then raced ahead of it to catch it, but this time he was going to do with the way Hiruma showed him to do.**

The ball was flying through the air. Eyeshield 21/Sena was practically on top of Sakuraba as the two of them raced after the ball. Some of the fangirls in the audience were shouting at Eyeshield 21 to not get in Sakuraba's way (… No comment). 'I can get! With this height difference…' Sakuraba thought as he held out his arms to catch the ball. Eyeshield 21/Sena held out his hands as he thought 'Reach out with my hands, with thumbs together,' moving his hands in the position he remembered Hiruma showing him to do when he was a high ball. Sakuraba could see that Eyeshield 21's hands were blocking his view of the ball. The ball was closing in on Eyeshield 21. **Hiruma telling Sena "It's not gonna be our team's ball if you just divert the ball. Catch it no matter what!"**. Eyeshield 21 caught the ball as he was almost falling on top of Sakuraba. The ball slipped out of Eyeshield 21's grip. A look that practically said I-can't-believe-that-just-happened appeared on Sena's face. As the ball was closing in on the ground Sena thought 'That's why… I only practised a little bit… Life's not that easy…' A pair of hands manage to catch the falling ball, those very hands belong to Yoichi Hiruma. The She-Devil grinned and said to Sena "Good work chibi." Then she darted off in the opposite direction as she shouted "YA-HA-!" Takami shouted at her teammates "GO BACK! IT'S AN INTERCEPTION! GO BACK!" Two of the White Knights chased after Hiruma both of them thinking 'He's not that fast! We can stop him!' The next thing those two White Knights knew was that Hiruma was skidding to a halt. She tossed the ball in front of her and Eyeshield 21 came out of nowhere to catch the ball and rush towards the end zone.

Shin stood up from his seat. The Devilbats that were off the field were cheering for Eyeshield 21. The sed Speedster was zigging and zagging in order to avoid the White Knights. Coach Shōji shouted at his team to make Eyeshield 21 go off to the sideline. White Knight #49 managed to push Eyeshield 21/Sena off-balance just enough to make him step out of bounds. The Devilbats on the sideline stated that it was almost a touchdown. The Devilbats were 13 yards (12m) from the end zone. Coach Shōji shouted at his team "DON'T BE INTIMIDATED! THE ONLY ONE YOU SHOULD WORRY ABOUT IS EYESHIELD!" Kurita handed the ball off to Hiruma and the play started. Ootawara kept his eyes on Eyeshield 21 as he thought 'Same as before… Eyeshield is on the right side…' Ootawara easily broke through the two Devilbat linemen that were on him and continued his way until he was in front of Eyeshield 21. When Eyeshield 21 got closer to the White Knight giant, he realized that the Speedster wasn't even holding the ball. Ootawara looked to his left and saw that Hiruma had the ball and was running towards the end zone without anyone on her. The Devilbats' quarterback faked the pass to Eyeshield 21. White Knight #25 managed to tackle Hiruma to the ground with eight yards (7m) left till the end zone. The Devilbats on the sidelines were practically cheering. "We can do it… Maybe we can do it!" Sena said happily.

On the White Knight sidelines, was a totally different mood from the Devilbats sideline. With a serious tone Coach Shōji stated "I didn't think this could happen against Deimon… This is all because of that Eyeshield. We cannot embarrass ourselves further in front of Shinryūji." There was a quick minute of silence. "Shin." The coach stated plainly. Shin stated nearly as plainly, "Yes." Coach Shōji told Shin to the put a stop to this and Shin replied with a simple yes. Shin stood up from his seat. Kurita immediately trembled with fear and Hiruma stated with amusement "Heh, he's coming out this early in the game?"

The sports experts saw the Shin putting on his helmet, he said "I just remembered. I'm a professional in charge of the X League, but the coaches were always saying… "There's someone incredible in the high school American football world." "Every team would do anything to get him after he graduates." Shin pulled his gloves on, the gloves were sporting the logo of the Oujou Privet High School. The sports expert continued, "That's right, the strongest linebacker in all of Japan… Seijūrō Shin-shi!"

~}i{~

Shin, in jersey #40, pulled his gloves on as he walked onto the field. The Shinryūji student in charge of reporting the game shouted that Shin was being subbed in. Sena thought as he watched Shin walk onto the field 'So that's him… The monstrosity with the fastest speed in the high school's scene, at least according to Hiruma!' Hiruma grand and stated to Sena "Hey, your rivals here! Go intimidate him!" And then she kicked him in the back, pushing him straight towards Shin. Devilbat #13 stated that Eyeshield 21 was declaring war on Shin, while Devilbat #58 said "What a sight! The Strongest Linebacker versus the Notre Dame Legend." Shin and Sena just stood there staring at each other, neither one of them said a word.

Hiruma had a plan. As she was talking to Sena he stated "Doesn't take much effort to play word games. If we can get it his head even just a little, we'll have the advantage." Sena wasn't sure what Hiruma was talking about, at least until she said very loudly so that the other team could hear, "Pass! It's gonna be a pass! Next time we're on offence, we're going deep!" Sena couldn't help but think that nobody was dumb enough to fall for that. Ootawara was that dumb. He immediately told Shin that they were going to pass and then added "Or maybe they're saying that on purpose so they can catch us off guard! Hm? Maybe it's the other around?" Now though White Knight's giant was confusing himself. Shin stated rather plainly "It's pointless to guess. Seeing is believing. Just use the usual formation, defend as it is. This way the White Knight's defence won't be broken." Ootawara immediately cheered up, slapping Shin on the back, and stated happily "The whole mood changes the moment you step onto the field!"

~}i{~

Deimon Devilbats offense, second down.

Both the White Knights and the Devilbats were in their formation. Looking through the binoculars, Yamabushi stated that everyone's expression had changed. Agon snatched the binoculars from his upperclassmen and stated "The White Knights are back to their usual selves again. This game's pretty much decided." Agon of the binoculars up to his eyes and said to no one in particular "Come on… Show us the 'Spear Tackle'!"

~}i{~

Kurita handed off the ball to Hiruma. The She-Devil handed the ball to Eyeshield 21. Ootawara moved to the right side of the line, thinking that's where the Speedster was headed. Shin noticed that there were three people blocking the middle. Eyeshield 21 went straight threw the centre. 'Good! They still Kurita-shield, uh, oops, Kurita-san left to use any shield. No problem!' Eyeshield 21/Sena thought as him and Kurita ran towards the end zone. Shin rushed towards the two Devilbats. Kurita did his best to block Shin, but the other lineman easily moved around the bigger Devilbat and ran straight towards Eyeshield 21, who was less than happy about that. Eyeshield 21/Sena managed to get past Shin, but she managed to turn around quickly and tackle the Speedster to the ground. Sena thought he could feel one of his ribs break. Someone shouted, "IT'S THE SPEAR TACKLE!" Mamori was surprised when she said "That Eyeshield gut… This is the first time he ever got tackled…"

Sena placed his hand over where he thought one of his ribs was broken and thought 'So this is a tackle… I haven't felt pain in such a long time… I've always been avoiding 'pain', so I've never done anything dangerous, I always go on errands before I'm being up. Now I remember, this 'pain'! It hurts!' Shin looked at Eyeshield 21 and said to Ootawara "Those thin arms… Are unfitting for an athlete. I have a hypothesis…"

~}i{~

(Sorry readers, but this part of the game is just the White Knights scoring and Shin tackling Eyeshield 21, so really nothing much to write about. I'm just going to skip that).

At the end of the first half and the game was 35-6 in favour of the White Knights. It was half-time and everyone in the stands was taking the opportunity to use the bathroom, which means that all of the ladies rooms would be full for a while. Sena darted into one of the empty stands in the men's room and make sure to lock the stall. 'If I didn't have my pads on, my ribs would've been broken… I don't wanna play anymore, he's gonna tackle me again… I don't wanna feel any more pain!' Sena thought.

~}i{~

Takami was going over the data for the first half of the game. "Five touchdowns in the first half, two were by Shin," she stated to no one in particular and not noticing that Shin was standing relatively close to her. One of the other White Knights stated "Haha… That hasn't changed… Shin supposed to be on the defence." Sakuraba looked at the stats for the passes and thought, 'I received two passes, I missed one, and the other was intercepted…'

The reporter stated to the camera "Due to Sakuraba's excellent performance in the first half, the Oujou White Knights are currently ahead by a big margin!" Sakuraba was able to overhear that, and he knew that it wasn't true. The entire White Knights team were scared halfway out of their skin when Coach Shōji shouted "YOU ARE ALL PATHETIC! WHAT HAPPENED IN THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME!? YOU GUYS GOT BLOCKED BY OUTSIDERS (Someone who doesn't normally play Amefuto)! SAME WITH THE ATTACK AFTER THAT!" (Wow, he's harsh). Than Coach Shōji turned his attention towards Sakuraba "SAKURABA! THAT FIRST PASS TO YOU! QUIT FOOLING AROUND!" Sakuraba eyed the ground and thought 'Oh crap…! He still remembers!' Coach Shōji noticed that the sticker on Sakuraba's helmet was peeling off slightly. The coach in the sticker off and shouted, "WHAT THE F* IS THIS?!" Miracle Ito saw and went to Coach Shōji to try to explain but the coach immediately shouted towards the man in the suit, "DON'T YOU DARE CORRUPT THE EQUIPMENT WITH THIS KIND OF CRAP! YOU CAN GET THEM INJURED IF YOU DO SHIT LIKE THIS!" (I'm going to assume that this has happened before, judging on mad Coach Shōji is about that sticker) Then the coach added after crumbling the sticker up "How can those who can't protect themselves battle with the enemy!?" And tossed the wad to the side, the wad was caught by the team manager who just happens to have a rubbish bin on hand. Miracle Ito pushed a confused Sakuraba away from the team as the coach was preoccupied. He handed Sakuraba an exact duplicate of the old sticker and said to secretly slip it on before he went on the field. Sakuraba tried to protest but Miracle Ito quickly stated "American burger paid Jerry Productions 30 million yen for the contract! Can you dish out that amount?" Sakuraba shook his head, Miracle Ito smiled revealing his golden tooth and said "You got it? Amefuto is just something for fun… This is important business! That's the last one, don't lose it!" Sakuraba looked at the sticker.

~}i{~

Inside the men's restroom. Sena was writing up a note that said I'm kind of busy, so I'm going home now - Eyeshield 21. Back on the field. Sena rushed towards Mamori, who stated "Ah! Your back? Looks like you went somewhere pretty far." Ishimaru looked around and wondered out loud where Eyeshield 21 was. Sena stated that he just passed him and it looked like he was heading home as he does to his pocket for the note that he wrote. Ishimaru sat on the bench and stated "I guess it can't be helped… He's been taking on Shin all along… We're supposed to help him around, but we can even become a proper shield for him." Sena was surprised. Devilbat # 81 stated that they were dragging him down and he probably got mad and didn't want to play with newbies. Mamori look to the ground solemnly and said, "Maybe he abandoned us…" Sena immediately shouted, "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Now everyone was looking at him. He had to think of something quick. "Uh... No.. That's what I think because everyone's working really hard…" That was when Sena realized that a lot of the other Devilbat players were trying the hardest as well.

Kurita looked at the scoreboard and said sadly "We're behind by 29 points… I think we pretty much lost…" Hiruma quickly stated, "We might still win, the chances are like 0.1%" (Was that supposed to make Kurita feel better?). Hiruma grinned and stated "Good chances! It's too early to give up as long as it's not 0%." Sena looked at the team, then looked at Shin, and then looked at the note in his hand. On the White Knights' side, Sakuraba seems to be the same dilemma as Sena. For what felt like hours, the two stared at the object in their hand. Sena crushed the paper and thought 'Forget it! Stop thinking about running away from pain by myself.' Sakuraba's helmet had the sticker on it, but Sakuraba didn't look too happy about his decision. The sportscaster announced that the second half would start soon.

~}i{~

Eyeshield 21 walk towards the Devilbats team. Ishimaru was delighted. Hiruma stated that he was late. With determination, Sena thought 'That's right, they're still 20 minutes left. Also, it's not impossible to break through!' Mamori looked at her phone, reading the text that Sena sent her. "Again? I thought we already had batteries?"

~}i{~

Shin used his Spear Tackle on Eyeshield 21 once again. Kurita ran up to Sena asking if he was all right. As he got up, Sena said "This I know… Shin-san can tackle with just a single stretched hand even from a considerable distance, that's why it looks like a spear coming out." Kurita replied, "Y..yeah, normally an arm isn't enough to stop runners, but Shin-kun has enough power to do just that." Sena walked off stating that he needed to be faster next time. Kurita wondered what Sena meant by that.

~}i{~

The score was now 49-6 in favour of the White Knights. "Shit, only two minutes left in this third quarter…" Hiruma stated looking at the stopwatch in the timekeeper's hand, the timekeeper being a considerable distance away. Sena commented that Hiruma had great eyesight. 'If we can score, at this rate the game will be decided during the last four minutes 50 seconds of the fourth quarter.' Hiruma thought.

~}i{~

Shin was able to stop Eyeshield 21, but it was barely this time. Eyeshield 21/Sena thought that he needed to be faster next time. Shin looked at Eyeshield 21 once again. "That Eyeshield…" Shin stated, getting Ootawara's attention, and then continued "He's been doing too many anaerobic exercises during offence and defence, his muscles must be full of lactic acid." Ootawara wasn't sure what she was talking about, but he assumed that Shin meant that the Eyeshield guy was worn out. Shin thought 'That's right, yet… Little by little, just little by little… He's getting faster…!' Hiruma noticed as Shin passed her, she stated nonchalantly "Eyeshield 21… Lightspeed running back from Notre Dame University." The She-Devil grinned before adding "Let me make this clear, he's faster than you are." Shin gave Hiruma an evil eye before stating with his eyes closed "Nice try, but we don't get disturbed by such." As Shin was walking away Ootawara got angry when Hiruma stated that Kurita was stronger than he was. Perhaps Shin spoke too soon when he said 'we'.

~}i{~

Hiruma stated towards Eyeshield 21/Sena "Hey, f*ing chibi, since you can intercept their passes anymore. During offence, go out and take a rest, save your straight for the offence!" Sena stated yes and what to sit on the bench. Sena could see that Shin was also sitting on the bench of his respective team. 'Just a little more,' Sena thought as he tapped his foot on the ground.

~}i{~

It was the White Knights offence. Takami had the ball. She was about to throw toward Sakuraba when Hiruma managed to tackle him to the ground. Kurita was able to overpower Ootawara and broke through the line. Takami quickly threw the ball at another player before Kurita managed to tackle her to the ground. The pass was successful, thus scoring a touchdown for the White Knights. Ootawara was mad that he got beat by Kurita, Takami reassured him that it was alright and that they scored. Sakuraba was upset that he lost the pass.

~}i{~

Most of the Devilbats were exhausted. Hiruma looked at the scoreboard, 56-6 in favour of the White Knights. 'A 50 point margin, even six touchdowns won't do,' she looked at the stopwatch 'The time left is… 4 minutes and 45 seconds.' The She-Devil took her helmet off and stated, "Shit, it's a game over." Sena noticed that it was time for the Devilbats offence. Both Eyeshield 21/Sena in Ishimaru noticed that Hiruma put her helmet on the bench. "You can coast to the rest now. I'm going home," Hiruma stated as she placed her duffel bag on the bench and remove her wrist sweatbands with her teeth. Kurita was flabbergasted. As Hiruma put her gear in her duffel bag she stated, "We still had a winning chance of one inability and a moment ago." Most of the Devilbats helpers thought 'T...This guy still wants to win…!' Hiruma settled her duffel bag strap on her shoulder and stated, "But it's all over now, they'll just waste time with huddles and that'll be it." With tears in his, eyes Kurita asked Hiruma to at least keep trying until the game ended. Looking at Kurita, Hiruma stated "So that people will praise you "you did well until the end"? You wanna comfort each other "we did our best even though we lost"?" Kurita nervously stated that trying has meaning in itself. Hiruma immediately said, "We are doing this too when trying without the winning intent is meaningless." As Hiruma started to walk off, Ishimaru wondered who would play quarterback. Sena glanced across the field at the opponent's bench. "Little more…" The running back said, getting Hiruma's attention. "Um… Just a little more…" The running back repeated. Hiruma turned around and stated, "Like I've just said, trying until the end or." "I MAY BE ABLE TO…" Sena practically shouted as he interrupted the quarterback, which did actually surprise her. Now back to his usual tone of voice, Sena stated as his legs twitched "Um… Well… I may be able to take Shin-san on, with just a little more." Hiruma was silent for a minute or so before she asked, "You wanna win against Shin?" Now practically fidgeting, which was making Hiruma irritated, Sena mumbled "Um… Well, it's nothing big… It's just that I might be able to take him on with a little more effort." Hiruma pulled out to assault rifles from her duffel bag and started shooting at Sena, who was dodging them out of fear. The She-Devil practically shouted as was running for his life "STOP MUMBLING, YOU F*ING CHIBI!" Hiruma snapped on her helmet and called huddle.

~}i{~

**At Oujou Private High School. Shin darted by his fellow classmates as Takami click the stopwatch. She looked at the stopwatch and stated, "Shin's record for the 40-yard dash is 4.37 seconds." The other students were surprised and one commented that he got even faster. One of them asked how fast was 4.37 seconds. Takami explained, "Let's say, Suzuki Ichiro got 4.4 when he became the Steals leader, now you guys understand?" The other students were impressed. Sakuraba commented that Shin had sonic feet. Ootawara laughed, slap Shin on the back, and stated, "Sooner or later you'll be faster than 4.3." Shin stated calmly "There's a tall barrier in front of this… The human limit for the 40-yard dash is 4.2. Even professional athletes find that difficult. If 4.4 is the world of the speed of sound, then 4.2 is the world of the speed of light. That's what I mean by a tall barrier…"**

~}i{~

Fun Facts: 40 Yard Dash Records.

Shin: 4.4 seconds

Ishimaru: 4.9 seconds

Sena: 5.0 seconds (without Cerberus chasing him)

Sakuraba: 5.0 seconds

Hiruma: 5.1 seconds

Ootawara: 5.4 seconds

Average Joe: 5.5 seconds

Takami: 6.0 seconds

Kurita: 6.5 seconds

~}i{~

After tackling Eyeshield 21 twice, Shin noticed that the running back was getting faster. Coach Shōji noted 'That's rare… For Shin to get so aggressive…' Shin was currently talking to Ootawara "That quarterback obviously wants me to take on that Eyeshield one-on-one." Ootawara asked if she needed his help in any way, but Shin declined and told Ootawara needed to focus his attention on the other players and said he would take care of Eyeshield himself. "He cannot break through my defence," Shin stated pulling on his gloves.

~}i{~

Sakuraba was sitting on the bench watching Shin tackle Eyeshield 21 and wondered why that person kept going up against Shin even though he couldn't win. Sakuraba lowered his head and mentally told Eyeshield 21 to just give it up. The sticker on Sakuraba's helmet peeled off and fluttered onto the field. Sakuraba remembered that that was the last one that Miracle Ito had and when after the sticker. Eyeshield 21 broke through the line again. He noticed that Sakuraba was directly in his path, there was no way he could avoid the other player. The running back collided with the receiver head-on. The fans in the stands continually shouted that Sakuraba was down. Eyeshield 21 quickly stated that he was sorry as the medic on duty when to examine Sakuraba. The only thing Sakuraba could feel was the pain. The medic stated "Not good! I think he broke his collarbone." Coach Shōji told someone to get an ambulance, but Miracle Ito insisted that he drive Sakuraba to the hospital himself and took Sakuraba, who is currently on a stretcher. The only thing Sakuraba could see at the moment was someone stepping on the sticker. Miracle Ito drove off with the teen idol.

~}i{~

The fans were completely outraged. Hiruma stated to his teammates that it was that fools fall for going onto the field and Kurita told Sena not to worry about the fans. Kurita noticed that Sena was focused on Shin. "Back then I would've been tackled anyway… Next time I'll get even more… Next time I will…" Sena stated and Hiruma grinned and stated "Well said." Now it was time to go over the final plan for the last part of the game. Hiruma went over the plan "Alright! Times running out! Prepare for the final showdown! Up until now because there are Shin and Ootawara in the centre, we've always gone around them from the side. This time we're breaking through the centre! We're gonna blitz! Once the past, one straight ahead! We're gonna break through their defence with speed and power!"

~}i{~

Both teams were in their formation for the final play. Kurita handed off the ball to the Hiruma. The She-Devil handed the ball off to Eyeshield 21, who immediately started charging into the centre.

Kurita and Sena versus Ootawara and Shin.

Kurita and Ootawara immediately started off with the battle of strength. Kurita managed to push Ootawara off balance, causing him to fall back almost on top of Shin. Shin was able to dodge, but not without losing a few seconds off chasing Eyeshield 21. The stands, Agon stated that Shin won again. Shin was closing in on Eyeshield 21. Yamabushi was surprised that he was already catching up and Agon simply stated: "Yup, he's got him!" Sena could just feel Shin closing in on him as he thought 'Crap… Can't get away from him… No, I still got a chance! This is the chance the team creates for me!' Shin was almost on top of Sena when he thought 'I gotta… I gotta be faster… Am I gonna run away? No! I'm gonna win!' With that Sena pulled away from Shin in a blink of an eye. Amazed, Shin thought as he watched Eyeshield 21 rush to the end zone, 'The world of the speed of light, 40-yard dash… 4.2 seconds!' The referee called a touchdown and the Devilbats cheered. Shin just stood there. The audience and the White Knights were in the same state as Shin. Sena collapsed at the end zone. As Kurita carried Sena to the bench, Hiruma stated "Hey! F*ing dweeb! It's only this time! Even though it's only one of the many duels you've had with him…" Hiruma smiled as she said, "But this time, you win!" For some reason, Sena felt warm about Hiruma praising him, sort of.

~}i{~

The score was 62-12 in favour of the White Knights and most of the people in the stand were ready gone (probably because most of them were only there for Sakuraba and since he was now on his way to the hospital, there was probably no reason for them to watch the rest of the game). Some of the Devilbats' players, including Kurita, were playing defence. Hiruma was sitting on the bench and Sena was leaning against the building. Mamori approaches Eyeshield 21 and handed him bottled water since she was already handing them out to the rest the team. She said "Here… Thanks for the hard work." Sena knew that he had to change his voice so that Mamori didn't know that he was playing. Sena deepened his voice a little bit as he said "Thank you... Mamori-neechan…" Sena noticed too late that he said what he said. Mamori was shocked and Hiruma looked like she was about to kill Sena. Still, in a state of shock, Mamori said "Are you… Sena.." Sena knew he was in trouble until Mamori finished saying "Sena's friend? Did Sena tell you to come in that?" Mamori cannot see the connections between Sena and Eyeshield 21 at all. Hiruma couldn't help but think 'Prejudice can be so cruel…" (She's actually right….) Though Sena was relieved that Mamori didn't realize, but you need to make sure Mamori didn't find out so he said "I… I'm not his friend… I saw him during the break, that's all…" That was when Mamori realized that Sena wasn't back from a shopping trip and wondered where he was. Hiruma quickly said as she pointed to the bleachers "He's on the bleachers taking pictures! When you take pictures for Amefuto, it's better to do it from somewhere high." Mamori immediately believes that. She turned to Eyeshield 21 and said: "Later when you meet Sena, please tell him that even for shorter people, they can still fight hard." Eyeshield 21/Sena nervously nodded yes. Mamori continued "That boy… Is too cowardly. I wish he could gain the courage to face any sort of daunting task." Eyeshield 21/Sena was speechless. The White Knights scored another touchdown, and time is running out.

~}i{~

End Of Match: Oujou White Knights 68 - Deimon Devilbats 12.

Kurita was sad "It's all over… Even though we won the first game with great difficulty… We still lost this match…" Sena remembered that it was a knockout tournament, and now… It was all over.

~}i{~

Since the game was over the Nagas were leaving. As the team was walking down the stairs of the bleacher's Agon stated "The situation has become clearer. I realized something, this year's Oujou's not as strong as last year." Yamabushi agreed and stated that all the stars senior players left. Agon stated plainly "Only Shin and Ootawara are tough to handle, at best, they can probably make it to the top four." Yamabushi did note that Diemon's on the rise. Agon was about to say something when the sound of a cell phone ringing interrupted him. It didn't sound like Agon's ring tone, so the Nagas, who had a cellphone, check to see if the ringing belongs to them. It was Yamabushi's cell phone. The upperclassman looked at the caller ID, was slightly surprised by who was calling him, and answered the phone. "Usagi-chan, this is a surprise. Not to be rude but why are you calling me?" Yamabushi asked the caller. Yamabushi was silent for a moment, waiting for the caller, Usagi, finished talking. "Agon? Oh, he's here, why?" Before Yamabushi to get an answer from the caller, Agon snatched his upperclassman's cell phone out of his hands, place it next to his ear, and said in a singy-songy voice "Bun-cha~n, why you calling Yamabushi~senpai's phone instead of mine~ if you wanted to talk to me~?" The Nagas that were close to Agon could hear a female voice on the phone saying "The reason that I'm calling Yamabushi-senpai is that a certain "Genius" has his phone off." Agon immediately replied "What?! No way in hell my phone's off!" Agon dug into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and flipped it open. The screen on the phone was black, indicating that it was indeed off. Agon looked at his phone in disbelief as he said to no one in particular "What the hell?! I know I didn't turn off." Usagi stated over the phone "I'm going to assume you didn't charge last night." Agon was silent for a moment. The Nagas knew that Usagi was right. Agon quickly regained his composure as he said "I might have forgotten to plug my phone in last night. Anyway, Bun-chan, how the doctor's appointment?" Yamabushi can practically hear Usagi sigh. "Same stuff as last time," Usagi said plainly and then added, "By the way, Agon can you stop by the market and get some spinach for me on the way home?" Agon immediately stated that he wasn't eating it for dinner then he said in disbelief "Oh, you're using the spinach for your wraps for your lunch tomorrow… Never mind then. Do you need me to pick you up from the doctor's?". Yamabushi was patiently waiting for Agon to finish his conversation after all Agon was using his phone. Agon nodded and stated got it before hanging up. Agon tossed the phone back to its owner and stated, "You guys can go back to school, I got stuff to do." None of the Nagas said anything after all this was normal for Agon.

~}i{~

Ootawara was upset when he said "I lost… I lost completely… I lost to Kurita!" The Devilbats went up to the opponent side of the field and bowed respectfully to the coach, minus Hiruma of course. Coach Shōji looked at Eyeshield 21 without a word. As the White Knights and the Devilbats past each other as they were heading to their respective sides of the field, Shin looked at Eyeshield 21 and thought 'If he is so fast that I can't touch him_ then it's no use no matter how strong I am.' As Shin passed Eyeshield 21, he said, "We Oujou will be the team that takes part in the Christmas Bowl!" Eyeshield 21/Sena wasn't sure what she meant by that. Coach Shōji placed his right hand to his chin and smiled.

~}i{~

In Miracle Ito's car. Ito's assistant was on the phone with someone who was still at the game "Ah, it's over? If Shōji-san is there, tell him to come to Joukamachi Hospital." When the system hung up Sakuraba asked how the match went, but Ito stated as he bit the steering wheel "Screw the match! What's gonna happen to your job?" (Really? That's all this guy is worried about?) The assistant told Sakuraba "It seems like… That Eyeshield made another touchdown…" Sakuraba was surprised that Shin was thrown off by that guy. The assistant reassured Sakuraba "The Oujou #85 there were placed you also touched out once, so no worries." That didn't reassure Sakuraba at all when he stated in a sad tone "Is that so… And underclassmen that took my place…" Sakuraba thought back to the game as he thought 'What am I doing… What the hell am I doing…' Tears streamed down Sakuraba's face as the car continued its way to the hospital (Poor Sakuraba…).

~}i{~

Coach Shōji said to the team "Alright… That's all for today. I'm off to the hospital." But before Coach Shōji could take another step, the reporter came up to him and asked him how he felt about today's match. Coach Shōji stated "Today's match… There's no winner. However… In this world of wins and losses, only those who have gone through disappointment will become strong. The year has only started!" (That… Was actually… A good speech). As Coach Shōji walked off the reporter stated that she didn't understand what he meant (No surprise there) a sports expert stated "How could you not?" Then he noticed that the Devilbats were walking in their direction and then he said "Right... We gotta interview the losers as well…" The cameraman stated, "We gotta make them look pitiful_ it'll be more interesting that way." (Hey now that's not right, especially after what Coach Shōji said). The reporter asked the cameraman if they should make fun of them (WHAT THE!? ARE YOU F*ING SERIOUS?! Oh, sorry for the language readers). The cameraman said, "Let's interview that fat-ass with not all over his face." (F*ing bastard, rot in hell. Oh, sorry again readers but how can that jerk of a cameraman be doing that after Coach Shōji's speech. I swear, some people). As the delinquent duo rush towards Kurita, Hiruma stepped in and placed her hand on the camera lens, effectively giving the cameraman a black eye (Karma~). Kurita wiped tears away from his eyes as he said, "Hiruma is being considered for me…" Mamori, Ishimaru, and Sena stated in an I-don't-believe-it tone "Impossible!" Hiruma pulled the camera away from the cameraman, whom he immediately covered his damaged eye, and threw the camera over the fence. The camera was run over by an oncoming car, but it looks like the footage was still usable. Every single one of the Devilbats, minus the now smiling Kurita, was in total disbelief (Wow… Didn't see that coming...). Hiruma looked at the team and stated "Oi, you bastards coming or what?" Kurita happily said yes, while the rest of the team just nodded.

~}i{~

The day after the match. Sena, his entire body was in pain when he muttered to himself "Ouch… I'm aching all over… But… I won't have to worry from now on… Probably… The tournament's over… I won't have to go through that hellish training anymore… Probably." Mamori appeared out of nowhere asking Sena was mumbling about as she playfully punched him in the back, which caused a surge of pain to want to Sena's body. Mamori immediately went into a panic as she asked Sena he was all right and if she should call an ambulance? (Calling an ambulance might be a little excessive…). Sena stated "I'm fine… This muscle ache from the match we just had with the White Knights is making me miserable…" Mamori was surprised when Sena mentioned that he had muscle aches. Sena quickly explained that the muscle aches were from him running around finding tapes and batteries for the camcorder. Mamori immediately relaxed and told Sena "Don't freak me out _ you sounded as if you took part in the match yourself. If they make you do that sort of stuff, I'll protect you!" Sena mentally sighed, there was no way he could let Mamori find out that he was actually in the game.

As they walked past the school dates they noticed something in the direction of the amefuto club shed, so they decided to investigate. Apparently, the club shed was being renovated as Hiruma was talking to one of the construction workers, who was wearing a bandanna, as both of them looked over the blueprint. Sena can help ask what they were doing to the club office and that was when Hiruma notices the two. The She-Devil walked up to the two and stated to Mamori "F*ing manager, are you done with the tape editing?" Mamori immediately stated that that wasn't the way does talk to her as she handed Hiruma the VHS tape. Sena was worried that they were going to argue again. "Right! I want to see the pictures you took on the bleachers," Mamori said happily as she turned to Sena, who was about to freak out. Hiruma held out an envelope and stated that all of the pictures were here. Sena had no idea how Hiruma managed to get all those pictures as Mamori looked at them stating that there were pictures from every angle. Hiruma took the pictures and handed them to Sena and ordered "Organize these after school. Remember to leave Sakuraba's pictures behind, we can use them to change for next year's pictures." Hiruma held out a picture of both teams formations and stated: "The important ones are pictures that capture the formations, cause you can't get these pictures from the sideline." Hiruma also stated that because the club was being renovated, Sena had to organize the pictures after class in the classroom. The head construction worker as Hiruma who was paying for the renovations and Hiruma quickly stated the principal was. Both Sena and Mamori had no comment.

~}i{~

As the school day progressed, Sena couldn't help but think that everything has settled down. As the class before lunch ended, Mamori motion for Sena to come towards her. Mamori held out a bento box and an umbrella and said "Here's your lunch, I happen to have made enough for two today… Also, it might rain today, so this is my backup umbrella." (You'd think that she was Sena's mother or something….). As Sena ate lunch and as the day progressed, he couldn't help but think 'Everything… Return to what it used to be. But I won't need to do errands for others anymore. Nothing needs to be done, nothing will happen, that to the old days…' After the final class ended, Sena decided to organize the pictures. A lot of the pictures were of Sakuraba and Sena made a mental note to payment visit went he got the time. As Sena looks to the rest the pictures, he couldn't help but remember the roar of the crowd, the satisfaction of being on a team, and scoring the touchdowns. Then Sena noticed a picture of Shin, and the memories of the tackled by that linebacker flooded his head. Looking at the empty classroom, Sena realized that the past two weeks were over, like a dream. 'By now, the White Knights… Should be undergoing intense training for their third match… If we had been good enough… We could've remained in the tournament. I'd still be playing right now…' Sena thought as tears ran down his cheeks.

Rain started to pour down. Hiruma slid the door open with her foot and shouted "F*ING CHIBI! YOU DONE WITH THE PICTURES YET?" Hiruma was carrying a box and Kurita was right behind her. Kurita immediately went to Sena and said "Sorry… We're not here to rush you… Since we can use the club office right now, this class is the only other room with a TV." Sena couldn't help wonder why his classroom was the only room with a TV. As Hiruma was connecting the VHS with the TV she stated that her and Kurita when this very class last year. That pretty much explained everything. The She-Devil pointed at Sena and stated "Right… Go home when you're done with the pictures. We gotta prepare for the Christmas Ball." Sena was confused "What? Isn't the tournament already over for us?" With a mouth full of pocky, Kurita happily said "There are two tournaments every year… In spring and fall. Only the winner of the fall games can take part in the Christmas Bowl." Hiruma said with an evil grin "The real deal is the fall games, we'll only have to take first place in it." And here Sena thought that Shin was being a showoff about taking part in the Christmas Bowl. Hiruma stated as she clicked the remote "We gotta find a way to deal with Shin. If we wanna win the fall games, we'll have to face Oujou again." So basically, the games just began.

~}i{~

As the rain continued to fall, Sena went out onto the practice field to pick up the equipment, since it was his job to do so. He saw the rope ladder and remembered that Kurita explained that it was used to remember the basic movements of amefuto. An image of Shin appeared in Sena's head for a second. Hiruma just happened to glance out the window when she saw Sena slip on the rain covered field as he was doing the ladder drills himself. Sena got up, tossed off his school blazer, and went back to the ladder drills as the rain continued. Hiruma just stood by the window, blowing a bubble with her gum, and continue to watch Sena. As she watched him, with the rainwater streaming down his determined expression, she forgot that she was blowing a bubble. It popped, getting the gum all over her chin, nose, and cheeks. Hiruma wiped the gum off as she continued to watch Sena. 'The f*ing chibi… Is actually… Being kinda cool right now,' The She-Devil thought with a slight hue of pink on her cheeks. Kurita, of course, noticed this and couldn't help but smile softly. The bigger player knew that it would be best to not say anything right now and just let Hiruma enjoy the moment.

~}i{~

4th Down: Scored.

~}i{~

Okame Moments:

A big, white, glob of sticky substance hit the floor. Takami's eyebrows twitched and Shin had an expression that stated that he did something wrong, very wrong. "Shin…." Takami scolded as another smaller glob fell to the ground. "I apologize…" Shin stated in an apologetic tone. Now an even bigger glob hit the floor making Takami wince. Sakuraba was standing in the doorway with an expression that said Oh-My-God!-What-am-I-witnessing-right-now? A vain appeared on Takami's head as she shouted "HONESTLY SHIN! YOU SHOULD'VE ASKED BEFORE YOU DID THAT!" Shin immediately apologized again as even more globs of white goo drizzled onto the floor, which aggravated Takami even more. It looked like neither of them noticed that Sakuraba was standing not even a meter away and Sakuraba wanted to leave it at that, so he left before they could.

Sakuraba walked into the amefuto club room. "Sakuraba, where's the ice cream you were supposed to be getting?" Coach Shōji asked the teen idol when he saw that Sakuraba was empty-handed. The blond looked at the ground and mumbled something. Coach Shōji told the teen to speak up. Sakuraba did so when he said, "Shin broke the ice cream machine…" The White Knights team was quiet for a moment before Sakuraba added: "Takami's currently scolding him right now." The blond still had the image of Shin standing by the machine as the ice cream oozed out of the broken nozzle and Takami's very angry expression. "Shin tried to use the machine? Why?" Coach Shōji asked and Sakuraba replied that he didn't know and that he walked in when Shin already broke the ice cream machine. Coach Shōji folded his arms wondered out loud why Shin would do something so odd. After all, Shin already ate lunch and wasn't going to eat anything else until his scheduled dinner. Then, why was Shin trying to get ice cream?

Shin was currently mopping up the ice cream from the floor since Takami stated that it was his fault and he should clean it up. Things really didn't go as Shin planed. He looked at the white goo and thought back to his plan. He knew that the team was going to have ice cream after lunch and he knew that Takami loved vanilla ice cream. Shin figured that Takami would be thankful that he went through the trouble of getting her some and maybe insist on sharing the ice cream, which would have given Shin an opportunity to get an indirect kiss via the spoon. Shin completely forgot the fact that tech breaks the moment his hands are on it. After Shin finished mopping, he thought 'I need to show her how I feel, but how should I do so?'

~}i{~

Gale-Dragon: Chapter 4 is completed. Raimon "Monta" is coming up in the next chapter. Will he find out about Hiruma's "Secret" right away or will he assume Hiruma's a guy as well? … Probably the later actually.


	5. 5th Down: The Monkey Catching Master

"Talking"

'Thinking'

(Author making a comment)

*action within a speech*

~}i{~

5th Down: The Monkey Catching Master

~}i{~

The tv station was having a tough time fixing the videotape, sure it was usable but the quality was a little better than watching a quality movie with a broken screen. At least they got some good shots of the game out of the film, though most were of Sakuraba. The head of the studio was shouting at the cameraman, stating that it was his fault the film ended up to become so horrendous. The employees were doing their best to salvage some images of the mysterious Eyeshield 21 for a piece that is due to air later that day.

~}i{~

Sena met a very interesting person on his way to school today. It was a person from the baseball club, he was around Sena's height with short spiky brown hair, big eyebrows, a white bandage on his nose, and kind of like a monkey. He managed to catch the amefuto ball a hell of a lot easier than Sena could and thought he was really nice, even if he kept on mixing-up rugby and amefuto. As they said their goodbyes to one another, the baseball boys stated that Sena should come and watch them play, since there was a game later today. As Sena walked up to the amefuto club shed, Sena wondered if he should buy an amefuto ball so he could practice is catching more. When Sena opened the door, he somehow found his way into a casino. Sena took a step back and realize that not only did the inside of the amefuto club changed, but the outside also had the major makeover as well. Mamori popped up behind Sena, also surprised about the new appearance. Sena asked what the posters were for, and Mamori stated that they were a secret weapon. Hiruma suddenly appeared and snatched one of the posters out of Mamori's hand, Kurita not far behind.

The She-Devil decided to show Sena what the posters contained. It was an advertisement for the amefuto club for new members to join. "The match with Oujou is going to be on TV tonight, so naturally we're doing a little advertising and recruiting," Hiruma stated plainly before adding "Our team needs more regular members who can come practice and play. With the state, we're in right now, even if we show up to the fall meets, we'll still lose." Kurita said "That's true. We need at least one more receiver because we need people who are good at catching." Sena immediately thought of the baseball member that he met earlier today and thought maybe he could join the team, or at least until Hiruma stated that they needed a tall receiver. Sena thought 'Oh well… He's on the baseball team anyway, I thought we could've become really good friends…' Hiruma told everyone to hang the posters in school, 20 per person. Sena asked if they needed permission to hang up posters and Hiruma told him to hang up the posters and that she didn't care about getting permission. Mamori quickly stated that she got permission from the student council.

~}i{~

After all the posters were up around the school, Sena went back to his classroom, looking at one of the posters he hung up in the classroom. He hoped that the poster's word gets people's attention and hopefully add more people to the amefuto club. Sena noticed that there was something writing on the side of the television, "We're definitely going to the Christmas Bowl! 1-2, Kurita Musashi Hiruma." Sena wondered who this Musashi person was. That was when the speedster remembered that Kurita stated that the club originally started with three members. 'So one member left? But didn't they share a common goal? Why…?' Sena thought as he could practically picture Kurita and Hiruma with another student writing the words on the television set and wondered why this Musashi left.

~}i{~

Back at the amefuto club shed. Apparently the slot machines were real and because of those slot machines, Hiruma was bringing in a lot of club funds. The happy Kurita stated if Musashi were still here than they would have five people. Hiruma quickly snapped "You're so damn persistent. What did I say, huh? Don't whine about that f*er! What we need now is a receiver, not a kicker!" The She-Devil looked out the window and stated "Soon we'll have five people. We'll just keep getting more and more. Focus on the future and not the past, dammit!"

~}i{~

Sena noticed that the baseball game had already started when he spotted the monkey catch an oncoming baseball. Sena thought it couldn't hurt to ask him about joining the amefuto club. As Sena left the classroom he thought 'It'd be great if he could be in both the baseball club and our club! There's still hope as long as the possibility is a zero.' Sena paused a bit when he realized that he was using one of Hiruma sayings. Guess the She-Devil was rubbing off on him, hoping that would be the only thing rubbing off. Then he ran off towards the baseball field.

~}i{~

Sena watches the game from a safe distance. He heard someone shout something along the lines of scoring with a sacrifice (a bunt or flying ball that allows it wanted to score or advanced to another base at the expense of a batter) as the ball flew through the air. The monkey immediately ran after the ball and caught the ball before it managed to hit the ground. Sena can help think that he was good, at least until the monkey threw the ball in the opposite direction of where he was aiming and nearly hit Sena in the head. Sena took one of the baseball helmets and put it on in order to prevent an injury. While Sena was putting on the helmet he heard the baseball club's Captain and vice-Captain talking to one another. "Raimon is really good at catching… If he's gonna become a defensive player…" The vice-Captain stated looking at the stats (Finally Raimon's name), and the Captain, who was smoking a cigarette, stated "No good. His shoulder strength and ball control just suck! Baseball needs all-round abilities! We don't need specialization!" Sena wondered what he meant by that.

~}i{~

After being mistaken for a new recruit for the baseball team, Sena was now up to bat. After two strikes and a couple of failed swings, Sena earned a free walk. Sena didn't know what it meant, but when the Captain shouted at him to run, he ran, fast. Passing the bases with no trouble and leaving everyone awestricken. One of the regular baseball numbers, who was one of the Devilbat helpers, stated that it was Eyeshield 21. Some of the regular members stated that may be he wanted to join the baseball team. Raimon looked at his catcher's mitt and said to no one in particular "Dammit… Everyone likes hittin' or runin' more… As for receivin'…" Raimon was hoping that being a catcher would've made him popular.

~}i{~

Sena quietly put the neatly folded baseball uniform, that he was forced to wear, on one of the benches. Raimon spotted him, got his attention, stating that Sena was from the rugby team, and was happy that he came to see the game. As the two walked back to the school Sena asked Raimon if he could join the amefuto team, but Raimon refused stating that it wouldn't be cool if he did that. "Don't get me wrong? I didn't say amefuto is not cool! I'm not that lame as to laugh at other people's passion. What I was saying was if I don't stay with baseball, I'll be uncool I spent my entire life on the glove, so one day I got a become a hero by receivin' and catchin'!" Raimon stated to his new friend. Sena could understand.

~}i{~

Back in the amefuto club shed. Sena really wishes that he could play amefuto with Raimon. Hiruma immediately stated that Sena should stop staring into space and go back to work and fired one of her many guns at the speedster. Mamori used her notebook to deflect the bullets, so it wouldn't hit Sena. Kurita looked at the clock, which read 5:30, and stated "That's right! The replay of our and Oujou's game is about to start! I wonder if they got anything usable from the recording after the car ran over it?" Hiruma stated that the find out by watching it on the projector, she clicked on the remote control and a projector appeared. How much money went to renovating that place?

~}i{~

Raimon was at his apartment when the television special of Sakuraba's debut game aired. Raimon quickly noted that it was amefuto and that the quality of the film was pretty bad. "Esh, you think they use better cameras for when they record this stuff. And I'm sorry Mr Secretary, I've always liked baseball," Raimon stated as he tried to open a potato chip bag, that was when the newscaster stated that Sakuraba's position is the wide receiver, explain what the position's description, and explained that in amefuto the receiver is always in the spotlight. Raimon's attention pretty quickly. The catcher watches the grainy play by plays of Sakuraba's catching. Raimon noted that he could easily catch the balls and that Sakuraba was really popular. Raimon could picture himself catching an amefuto ball and the crowd would just love them until he remembered that he was strictly baseball. Then a grainy picture of Eyeshield 21 appeal. Raimon remembered that he was the one who was on the field earlier today.

~}i{~

"When Eyeshield 21 ran into the Sakuraba, the teen idol had to be taken off the field due to injuries," an over voice stated and apologize for the lack of a visual due to technological errors. Sena doubted that and wondered where Sakuraba was hospitalized. The over voice then added "We have received a reply from Mr Eyeshield 21 about his accident, "For those who witnessed the game, you see my killer tackle! Accident? Hell no! I did it on purpose! Whoever blocks my way I'll f* him up! Get the f* outta here if you don't wanna die! Ya~Ha~!" That was what he said…" Mamori was shocked that Eyeshield 21 would say something like that, while Sena and Kurita immediately turn to Hiruma, who was now sporting an evil grin. "Hiruma did you really have to say all of those lies?" Sena asked the She-Devil Captain, she immediately mused how the speedster knew that it was her. With her gun and an evil grin she stated "In amefuto, you'll win if you scare the opponents out of their wits! You gotta become a badass in order to deal with the enemy!" Sena couldn't help but cry that. Kurita padded Sena on the back, reassuring that no one was good to take the video seriously.

~}i{~

Raimon immediately stated that Eyeshield 21 was an asshole.

~}i{~

The next day the only thing everyone at Diemon high was talking about was the TV special with the grainy visual. Okay, more about Eyeshield 21 and who he actually was under that mask. Sena really wished Hiruma didn't say what she said for the TV program. 'I don't know what's worse, how television can portray people or Hiruma,' Sena thought as he switched his regular shoes for his school shoes. Raimon came onto the scene and stated that he saw the TV program last night, as he picked up his shoes with his feet (I'm curious, is there a technical term for being able to use your feet like hands? Other than being called a monkey?). Raimon went off about how Eyeshield 21 was an asshole. Sena decided that the She-Devil was worse. "But must be tough having a terrible senpai like that…" Raimon stated at his new best friend. Sena replied, with the picture of Hiruma in his head, "Well… Um, indeed having a cruel senpai is quite difficult…" Sena gave a small smile and added "But… Because s… Er, HE's with us, we were able to win our first game." Raimon smiled and replied "Right! I heard your win over Koigahama was the first win! We gotta celebrate! Celebrate your first win and me entering Rank One." Sena congratulated Raimon, but the catcher immediately stated "To tell ya the truth, I'm not sure yet… It'll be announced after school… It might be a bit difficult for me to make Rank One, but I should be able to climb up there from Rank Two…" Raimon immediately cheered up and chatted to Sena as he had for class "Ya can't always be pessimistic about life! Come to the baseball team office after school!" With the sweatdrop on his brow, Sena waved goodbye to his new friend.

~}i{~

After the final class ended, Sena immediately rushed to where they posted their ranks for the baseball team. Noticing that his friend wasn't there, Sena went to the list to the figure out where his friend was ranked. He looked at the list for Rank One. That was then when he realized he didn't even know his friend's name. The speedster spotted the Captain and vice-Captain of the baseball team coming out of the room and asked them if they knew his name, after giving them a detailed description. The captain immediately stated that they didn't have anyone like that on their team, but the vice-Captain was helpful enough to point to a name tag of the person that Sena described. 'So his name is Raimon Tarou,' Sena thought as he looked at the rank his friend was under, which was Ranked Three. The baseball Captain stated "Rank Three isn't really a team. It's more of a clique. To tell the truth, these people fail the test." The vice-Captain explained more politely to Sena "Many people want to join our team. Although it's kind of harsh, we can't let everyone in and this is a better way of really telling them that they didn't make the team." Sena remembered what Raimon told him yesterday. He couldn't help but pity him.

~}i{~

Sena slowly walked to the amefuto club shed. He still remembered what the baseball team captain said about them not needing specialization. The speedster saw Mamori, Kurita, and Hiruma step out of the shed. The She-Devil told the other two to hand out flyers to tall people, while Kurita stated that he wished that they could find a good receiver, Mamori immediately ran off to hand out the flyers. Sena needed to ask the blonde female. "Hiruma-senpai… The receivers… Have to be tall…?" Sena finally asked in a timid tone. Kurita stated that receivers don't necessarily have to be tall. Sena asked another question "Does amefuto… Not need people who are only good at one thing?" Hiruma frowned and stated "Fool, it's the other way around! We need people who are very good at one thing because this is a very specialized sport!" Sena couldn't believe his ears, maybe had a chance to get Raimon into amefuto after all.

When Sena asked for more flyers, Hiruma immediately snatched the flyers of his hands and stated that Sena was a terrible team secretary. The She-Devil pulled out a rope, seemingly out of nowhere, and stated that Sena was going to run every day. Hiruma quickly tied Sena to Cerberus' collar. The speedster felt like he grew a stone in his stomach. For some reason, Cerberus was really excited and wanted he run off somewhere. Once Hiruma released her mutt of a dog, he was off along with Sena in tow. "Ohhhh! Nice speed!" Hiruma stated happily, while Kurita wondered if Sena was gonna be okay. With an evil grin on her face, Hiruma stated "That f*ing chibi… He always collapses after he wants 40 yards within 4.2 seconds, which means he doesn't usually don't run at that speed. I'm gonna make his legs remembered the speed of 4.2 seconds!"

Cerberus raced along the sidewalk with Sena being forced to run behind him. The speedster kept shouting at pedestrians to move out of the way so they wouldn't get hit by the devil-dog. Sena wasn't sure if he could completely prevent any collisions.

At a sports equipment store a km or so away from Sena and Cerberus' current location. Three students, two boys and one girl in their teenage years, from a school in the Kanagawa prefecture walked out of the sports store, each with a large, heavy-looking, cardboard box in hand, or hands in this case (1). "Who's turn was it to order the new equipment?" asked the tallest of the three, whom was completely bald and seemed to be able to hold the box he was holding with only one hand. "One of the new recruits. You'd think he would write down the address of the school correctly on the order forms," replied the bulky second tallest. The tallest sighed and stated, "At least the store owner was nice and understood the mix-up with the addresses." The only girls of the group piped up "I think that this happens often with this store." The bulky teen asked, "What make you think that?" The girl replied "Because I heard the owner mutter "At least it was sports gear this time"." The bulky teen muttered a makes sense and then added towards the girl "You sure you're going to be able to carry that all the way to the bus?" The girl shifted the box so she could hold it better and stated "Of course I can. Compared to the stones we lift, this box is practically a feather." The bulky teen warily told the girl "All right, but if it's getting hard for you, one of us will carry it okay?" The girl stated fine in an annoyed tone and started walking ahead of the boys. The bulky teen whispered to his taller friend "Are you sure it's fine for her to be lifting something that heavy?" The girl shouted back that she heard that, which caused the bulky teen to flinch. The tallest teen stated that she'll be fine and that she does participate in the team's training.

"NEECHAN MOVE OUTTA THE WAY!" Someone shouted, not too far off. The girl looked in the direction of the shouting. Imagine her surprise when she saw a mutant mutt pulling a freshman by a rope running at a rapid speed. The girl managed to jump before the dog ran into her, but doing so caused her to fall off balance, due to holding an overweight box and moving too fast. The tallest managed to catch her with his free hand before she completely lost her footing. She thanked him in a shaky tone as she regained her footing. All three looked in the direction the dog and boy were heading. The bulky teen finally asked, "What was that?" "Some kind of mutant dog pulling a boy tied with a rope," The tallest stated. "Today is indeed a weird day," the girl stated and the boys agreed.

~}i{~

Raimon was sitting on the grass watching nothing in particular. Raimon looked at his beloved baseball glove. A strange noise was heard and Raimon didn't know what it was until Cerberus was right on top of them, still dragging poor Sena along. There was an epic fight between a monkey and a dog.

After everything was settled, Raimon noted that Sena was fast and wondered if he was a regular player on the amefuto team. Sena of rubbed the back of his head and stated that he wasn't really. Raimon showed Sena his baseball glove and stated with a smile "This glove… Was given to me by a professional baseball player called Houjou. He's very good at catching, every time he makes a brilliant catch, the crowd goes wild and cheers for him!" Raimon explained that he wanted to be a hero just like Houjou, that the ace ballplayer tossed him the glove after the game, and that he's been practising his catching like there was no tomorrow. Raimon began to cry when he stated that it was impossible for him to become a professional baseball player. Sena couldn't help but sympathize with the monkey-like catcher. As Raimon was leaving, Sena decided now was his chance to ask. "OUR TEAM… IS LOOKING FOR A PERSON WHO IS VERY GOOD AT CATCHING!" Sena practically shouted. Raimon glanced at Sena and stated "Ya want me to give up baseball and go play amefuto? 'Tis running away… I can't do it. Too uncool." Sena immediately shouted back that it wasn't running away and that he did do it at first and explained that he hoped to become useful to his team at the secretary, but he didn't think that he was fit for the job. Sena continued by explaining "Then I decided… I'll give it all I've got to become a regular player… Even though it's quite different from my original aspirations, but I'm having much more fun this way… Some things just turn out the way they are!" Raimon couldn't help but be moved, but stated thanks and that some fools just refuse to turn back. Sena immediately tried to stop him. Raimon thought Sena was gonna say more, but Sena explained that Cerberus took a huge bite out of the back of his pants and that there was a giant hole.

~}i{~

Raimon was covering his rear end with his school bag. Sena apologized about it and Raimon stated that it was okay. Raimon remembered that his team uniform was being watched and that he didn't have any more spare pants. Sena offered an amefuto uniform for him to wear. Raimon was about to agree until he thought it was a ploy for him join the amefuto club. Judging by the look on Sena's face, it wasn't. Raimon told Sena "I know I'm too stubborn… If I knew about amefuto first, then maybe I…" The catcher didn't get to finish his sentence when an amefuto ball was hitting directly in his face. By some miracle, Raimon was able to catch the oncoming ball with only one hand. That was when Sena realize that Hiruma and Kurita were there. Wait a minute, why are those to here again? Raimon, Sena, and Kurita were in a state of confusion as the amefuto (female) captain pulled some tape out. Within the next 30 seconds or so, Raimon was completely tied up with tape, gagged, and locked in the amefuto ball cage by Hiruma. Kurita and Sena didn't know how to react, or what they should do, especially since it involved the She-Devil.

~}i{~

Mamori was sweeping in front of the amefuto club shed, since she finished with handing out all the flyers; although, nearly every single person she handed the flyers to were trying to hit on her, not like she really noticed that they were. The honour student spotted Hiruma climbing the steps with a student tied up with tape in tow while Sena and Kurita tried to save the poor student. Mamori immediately shouted what they were doing. Hiruma nonchalantly stated that the student that she tied up wanted to join the team (not with those words in particular mind you). Sena stated that the student's name was Raimon Tarou. "So it's Monta huh? What a fitting name," Hiruma immediately teased. Through the gag, Raimon tried to correct his name. "As if he'd like to! Hiruma you jerk, it's blatantly obvious that you are coercing him," Mamori immediately stated as Raimon tried to struggle out of the tape. Mamori immediately went to help Raimon out of the tape. The blond got annoyed and was pulling a black notebook out of her pocket. Both Sena and Kurita knew exactly what that notebook was. Mamori noticed that there was a big hole in the back of Raimon's pants and said, "I'll sew it up for you, go find something to wear in the meantime." Raimon immediately refused and stated "There was a hole to start with I ain't gonna make you guys take the blame!" Mamori in merely stated that it was all right and with a sweet smile, she said "It doesn't matter who's responsible, I'll sew your pants for you. Stop being so insistent." With a look that screamed oh-my-goodness-it's-love-at-first-site, Raimon agreed. Hiruma had an idea and let the notebook fall back into her pocket. Leaving both Sena and Kurita in confusion as the other three went back into the shed.

~}i{~

It was dark when Sena and Raimon were heading home. Raimon was admiring the fact that Mamori was able to fix his pants up so well that you couldn't even tell that they were ripped in the first place. "Mamori-neechan has always been really good at these sorts of things," Sena said to his new friend. Raimon asked if Mamori was Sena's sister, completely unaware of the hand coming out from a nearby bush. Without realizing that Raimon was being kidnapped, Sena explained, "We are really brother and sister, we just happen to live real close." Sena finally realized that Raimon was missing. It didn't take Sena long to realize that Hiruma kidnapped Raimon when he passed by a nearby park. Raimon was currently standing on the top of the slide, shouting angrily at the quarterback. As if it was the most natural thing that could happen, Hiruma sat on a nearby bench, placed a cigarette in her mouth, lit it with her pocket lighter, and said calmly "Actually, I had taken up you, because the "Big Boss" told me to." Sena was currently hiding behind a nearby fence and he can help but wonder who this big boss person was. "The big boss knows that we don't dare to resist him, so he's always getting us to do the dirty work for him," Hiruma said leisurely, taking the cigarette out of her mouth. Raimon finally asked, "Who's this low-down guy?" The She-Devil stated the name Eyeshield 21 as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Sena was completely mortified as he thought 'She's evil.' Raimon was officially mad and asked Hiruma in an angry tone "Why is that kinda guy the big boss?" "Because he's the main man of the team," Hiruma stated casually as she let the cigarette burn, making Sena wonder if she really does smoke or not.

The She-Devil casually explained that Mamori joined the team because she felt for his ball-handling skills and explained that Eyeshield 21 was going to dump her after he played around a bit. A tear streaked down Sena's cheeks as he thought 'What a load of bs. Where did she come up with this stuff?' Raimon on the other hand was completely falling for Hiruma's lies. Hiruma casually folded her arms looked away from Raimon and stated in her manipulative voice "I wonder if someone will be willing to take they kept in position from him? Then Anezaki would be free. Especially if someone is good at receiving." Raimon was tempted, while Sena couldn't help but think that he was being deceived. The receiver quickly shook his head and stated "No… No, I can't do that, I'm on the baseball team, if I run away, it'll be uncool!" Rubbing her chin and stated in her manipulative voice, Hiruma said "That's right, way uncool! But is there someone in this world who is a "Real Man", that is willing to sacrifice his coolness in order to save a girl?" Now Raimon was interested. Sena couldn't help but think that he was too gullible. After a while, Raimon finally said, "Please let me think about it for one night."

~}i{~

Raimon was sitting in front of his desk with his baseball mitt perched on top of it. He muttered to no one in particular "Shuei Eagle, Honjou Masaru… Number 80, catchin' expert." He remembered his idol catching a home run hit, he remembered him picking up baseballs for the team, and he remembered what Sena said to him earlier today. "Mr. Honjou… I've already given my maximum effort, right?" Raimon bowed in front of the mitt and practically shouted "I'M SORRY! I CANNOT BECOME A REGULAR BASEBALL PLAYER!" With tears in his eyes, Raimon continued "But now… There are finally some people who told me their team needs me! I'd like to try my luck on that team!"

~}i{~

The next day, the sun was shining ever so brightly as Sena walked to the amefuto club shed. Sena noticed that the shed door was slightly open. When the speedster looked inside, he was greeted by a red jersey with the number 80 in white. It was Raimon in his new amefuto jersey. Raimon greeted Sena with "Mornin'! This is Mr Honjou's number 80!" Sena was completely happy that Raimon decided to join the amefuto team, at least until the catcher shouted that his goal was to defeat Eyeshield 21. Sena couldn't help but wonder if there was okay for him to let Raimon believe the lies Hiruma told him. After a few minutes, Sena wrote down Raimon's stats.

Character Data :;: Raimon Tarou, Nickname: Monta (2) :;: Team: Deimon Devilbats, Position: WR, Wide Receiver :;: 40 Yards (36m) Dash: 5.0 seconds :;: Bench Press Record: 40 kg :;: Number 80 – Catching Expert.

~}i{~

The Devilbats had the entire gym to themselves (How much you want to bet that Hiruma had a play in it). At the moment both Raimon and Sena were doing some funky neck stretches, Kurita was bench pressing who knows how much weight, and Hiruma was somehow working out her legs with one of her guns in her hands. The moment Mamori walked into the gym, Sena slipped out of his very weird position and fell on his back, and Mamori immediately ran to his side. Sena immediately explained that he wanted to train his muscles with the rest of the team and Mamori told him not to overdo it. Seeing that Sena was getting attention from Mamori for getting slightly hurt, Raimon decided to pretend that his shoulder was disjointed. Kurita decided to help Raimon. The giant was in too good of a mood to notice that he was actually hurting Raimon. Sena thought with joy 'Even Kurita-senpai seems quite happy because we got a new teammate.' "Oi! F*ing chibi! Buff up your neck of the more or you're really gonna get f*ed in games," Hiruma managed to say with a cloth in her mouth as she seemed to be doing maintenance on the gun she had in her hands, she was even wearing gloves too.

Mamori brought up that although the posters and flyers were good ideas, she thought that it might be a good idea to hold a game at the school fields. Kurita agreed and said, "If we don't let everyone see how we play, no one will join us…" Hiruma was already on a phone already planning to schedule an amefuto game this weekend. Raimon completely surprised on how fast Hiruma worked, Sena noted that this was actually normal. Hiruma turned to the speedster and the catcher and told them "Let's get ready. F*ing chibis! You go do some running, and get me some equipment along the way!"

~}i{~

During their jog, the two found the sports equipment store. Raimon rushed ahead of Sena towards the store and shouted "EFFORT MAX! DASH!" As Sena tried to catch up he ran by someone jogging in a hoodie. The speedster quickly recognized that person as Oujou White Knight Lineman Seijūrō Shin. The Lineman passed Sena as if he didn't see him. 'Oh, that's right, Shin doesn't know me,' Sena thought as he took a breath. Shin stopped running, looked at him, and noticed the other teen's arms and legs. When Shin asked, "Are you Eyeshield 21?" Sena's heart nearly stopped. Sena nervously turned to the Lineman and stuttered out a yes.

A few seconds later a duo on a motorbike stole the money that Raimon had to buy the sports equipment. Shin decided to help Sena and Raimon get the money back. Shin told Sena about a traffic jam on a bridge nearby and told the speedster a strategy that would help them get back the money. The plan was a success and Raimon managed to catch every single bill that was floating in the air after the motorcycle crashed. As the police took away the motorcycle duo, Raimon and Sena counted the bills to make sure all of them were there. The two Devilbats thanked Shin and the Lineman replied "You guys are the receiver? Get yourselves ready for the fall tournament, we Oujou will be much stronger by then. I'll be waiting for you in the finals." Before he left.

~}i{~

As Sena and Raimon were walking towards the amefuto club shed, Raimon was trying to mimic what Shin said to them. Sena stated that Shin was cooler than Raimon, making Raimon playfully bopped Sena on the head and get him to try saying that line. As Sena repeated those lines Raimon noted that they had company in the shed. When the catcher looked in the shed, he fell backwards in total shock. As both of them looked through the slight opening in the shed, Raimon stated "It's Habashira Rui. He's the ace of the amefuto team at Zokugaku, and not to mention he was the most fearsome man at that school." They heard someone say "This weekend we're gonna have a game, Zokugaku vs Deimon…" Sena opened the door a bit more to see who was talking. Imagine Sena surprise when he saw Hiruma wearing Eyeshield 21's jersey and helmet. With an expression that looked like he saw a ghost, Sena thought 'WAAAHHH! WHAT IS SHE DOING!?' Hiruma, in the guise as Eyeshield 21, stated in a mocking tone "So does that mean we can send you f*ing scums back to hell?" Rui stood up from his seat and said in an angry tone "What did you say! Eyeshield 21! I'll get you good!" There was a man in a business suit and glasses doing his best to stop Rui from clobbering the fake Eyeshield 21. With a final taunt, Hiruma betted ¥5 million on the match in the ace of the Zokugaku agreed. The two guests left soon afterwards.

~}i{~

Later that day, Hiruma and Kurita (mostly Hiruma) hijacked the broadcasting room and told everyone through the speakers that the amefuto team will be having a game this Saturday on the field, that their opponents were gonna be the Zokugaku Chameleons, that ¥5 million was betted on the game, and that Eyeshield 21 was going to be playing. Raimon stated that it looked like that they can afford to lose, while Sena really wanted to crawl under a rock and hide.

~}i{~

In the amefuto club shed, the team was going over the data on the Zokugaku Chameleons, starting off with Habashira Rui. The linebacker and team captain was best known for his horrendously long arms that can capture anything that moves. Raimon noted that the spring tournament was still underway and stated, "If they're playing with us then that means they lost really early as well?" Mamori stated that that wasn't the case and told him to take a look at the tape from the Chameleon's last game. The video showed Rui punching the referee. Mamori explained as she read through an amefuto magazine "That's why they will disqualify this year, this book says they're "The black horse and spotlight for the fall tournament"." Kurita stated that because the Chameleons started beating up the referee, the team was disqualified from the spring tournament. Sena was shaking when he stated that Rui was a fearsome guy and Raimon stated, "I heard that he carries a butterfly knife with him every day." Sena immediately calmed down and told Raimon that they had someone who carries firearms every day as he looked towards Hiruma, who was carrying a sniper rifle and stating it was time to practice. Raimon was speechless.

~}i{~

The Devilbats were inside the school's gymnasium picking up everything they needed for their amefuto practice. As Sena was lifting a box he wondered aloud they could be a terrible team and Hiruma stated that she wouldn't have betted ¥5 million if they didn't have a chance. The She-Devil stated that Eyeshield 21 was going to be there bait and pissed off Rui so much that they'll try to stop the running back from brushing a touchdown and then added as she picked up an amefuto ball "But now we can *throws the ball in a certain direction* score by passing as well!" Raimon practically cut that ball by instinct. Kurita said in a very happy tone "We can finally use passing as well~~~! Finally, it's starting to look like amefuto. By the way, Hiruma, do you wanna bring Rice-kun out?" The giant held up a wooden stand with a rough drawing of a catcher. The quarterback stated that they didn't need it anymore. Mamori, Raimon, and Sena asked who Rice-kun was, and Kurita explained that when there was only him and Hiruma they made Rice-kun because Hiruma couldn't find anyone to practice passing with, they gave the wooden stand the name Rice-kun after the super receiver of the NFL, Jerry Rice.

Hiruma hung Rice-kun on one of the field goals Hiruma said to the team "Now that we have a receiver, we don't need Rice-kun anymore." And with that Hiruma locked and loaded her AK-47 (and is currently looking like the devil) and started shooting rounds into the wooden stand. Everyone moved out of the way. While on the ground Kurita whispered to Raimon "Actually after of Monta joined *Raimon stated that his name was Raimon*, the happiest one should be Hiruma because Hiruma's position requires him to pass. Hiruma has been training hard and is very good at it, but up until now was able to use this skill properly. But now we finally have a receiver," Kurita can help but smile and think, 'Ever since Sena joined the team, Hiruma's been really cheerful.' Sena and Raimon looked at each other in confusion. Kurita tackled Rice-kun, breaking it and a half. Hiruma told the new Devilbats to the join in the fun and Mamori shouted at Hiruma not to get them involved. "Mamori-neechan has scolded me so… So afterwards will earnestly apologize to her," Sena finally said, making Raimon grin. Somehow, out of thin air acquired a bazooka, Sena and Raimon used that to blast Rice-kun into pieces. Mamori was upset at first, but when she saw Sena smiling as he and the other Devilbats destroyed the cardboard, she felt a little bit better. Mamori grabbed a flamethrower and used it to destroy Rice-kun and creating an inferno.

Some of the Deimon students nearby notice the Devilbats antics. Hiruma noticed that and shouted that they will beat Zokugaku. The students cheered for the Devilbats to win, while Mamori and Kurita tried to put out the fire and Hiruma were shooting the ammo from her AK-47 into the air. (Ummmmm, any idea who's going to clean the debris from the fire).

~}i{~

Currently, the Devilbats team was doing ladder drills. After they were done, Sena nearly lost his balance in the remains of Rice-kun and stated that they were getting in the way. Hiruma stated, almost in a mocking tone, "Because 'someone' lacking common sense set it on fire." Of course, Hiruma was talking about Mamori. Kurita suggested that they do some real passing practices in the form of a real game. Mamori immediately went to Sena and stated in a tone that mimicked a concerned mother "It's a real game… It'll be quite dangerous, I think you shouldn't take part in it." (Mother hen much). Hiruma put her right hand to her face and stated nonchalantly "I think I saw Eyeshield 21 at the team office~~~" when Sena got the look of confusion on his face, Hiruma immediately shouted, "I MEANT FOR YOU TO FETCH HIM FOR ME, F*ING CHIBI!" And with that Sena immediately raced off towards the amefuto shed thinking that the She-Devil could have told him about the Get-Changed-into-Eyeshield 21-without-Letting-Mamori-Know codes.

Raimon wanted to meet Eyeshield 21 and give them a piece of his mind about Mamori, (Seeing as he believed the lies that Hiruma told him). Raimon spotted Eyeshield 21 heading his way. Sena, wearing his helmet and jersey, had to make sure that Raimon and find out he was the person that he hated so much. Lowering his voice, Sena told Raimon "Are you the newcomer? Let us both work hard together!" With a sweatdrop on his cheek, Raimon said: "Sena, what the hell are you doin'?" Sena immediately froze. Sena tried his best to convince Raimon that he was Eyeshield 21 and not Sena. "SO YOU'RE THAT BADASS!" Raimon shouted as he started fighting with Sena. Kurita happens to be in the area and broke up the fight.

After a few minutes of explaining, Raimon finally realized that Hiruma did all of the bad things. 'I really wish she wouldn't make those kinds of lies,' Sena thought as he looked down at the ground. Sena stood up and apologize to Raimon, and then added, "I didn't want to trick you, but I was afraid that if I told you the truth you'll quit amefuto so…" Raimon stood up and turned away from the two Devilbats and said "I've decided, I'm gonna be receivin' expert in amefuto. I'll keep my promise. *He turned his head to the Devilbats* We're gonna win this one against Zokugaku." Sena happily stated of course and Kurita jump for joy.

~}i{~

During the practice game, Mamori noticed something interesting as she thought 'Hmmm? How come Sena still hasn't returned?' Then she said out loud "Every time Eyeshield 21 shows up Sena never seems to be around." Kurita could feel his heart stopped and thought 'NOOOOO, if Mamori discovers that Sena is Eyeshield 21, then shall make him leave the team and Hiruma would…' Then Mamori finally realized it, the thing that she thought she overlooked, and the thing that made the most sense when she saw Eyeshield 21. "Could it be… They…" Kurita didn't think his heart could take anymore. "Don't get along really well?" Mamori stated really seriously (Is she really that dense?). Kurita couldn't have been more relieved. 'That's right. So far, Monta is the only one who instantly saw that he was Sena,' Kurita thought as he watched Eyeshield 21 showing Raimon how to catch a long pass. Hiruma managed to trick Sena/Eyeshield 21 into sticking up only his middle finger, managed to snap a picture of it and the player with a camera, then appeared out of nowhere. 'What in the world is she planning?' Sena thought after the She-Devil walked away with the camera.

~}i{~

The day of the match there was this huuuuuuge poster with a picture of the Chameleon ace and the picture of Eyeshield 21 sticking up his middle finger, the match, and stated that ¥5 million that was on the game, outside over the entrance to the school, for all to see. Raimon and Sena were completely mortified, while the other students were commenting positively on the poster. Sena heard someone stating that the poster was cocky, so he turned to see Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō (3), Sena's former bullies. The speedster was about to cower when the three raced off in the other direction, making Sena wonder why they did.

~}i{~

"GOD DAMNIT_! WHY DO WE HAVE TO SPEND OUR LIFE IN THE SHADOWS?" Kuroki shouted, Stopping his foot on the ground in anger. Toganō tired calming Kuroki down by saying "All will be solved when we retrieve the negatives." Exhaling the smoke from his cigarette, Jūmonji stated "There's a game today… Maybe now is our chance."

~}i{~

The entire Zokugaku Chameleons arrived at Deimon high with Rui leading the way.

~}i{~

It was a few minutes before the game started and the entire school was at the field eager for it to begin. Roughly 80% of the students were cheering for the Devilbats to win the game, while the other roughly 20% were being jerks to the team. Hiruma decided to call Cerberus to take care of that pesky 20%.

Hiruma wondered out loud how many were going to perish and, with a rope in hand, she said in a cheery tone "I'll go find a few volunteers from the audience." Sena wondered if she was being serious. Before she could get her first vict… er, volunteers, she told Kurita to get the protective gear from the team office. Kurita complied and went off to get the gear.

~}i{~

In the team office, Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō were searching for the negatives of them naked, without much success. Kurita opens the door and saw the three. "You… You guys…" Kurita said in a serious tone. The three was scared halfway out of their mind at this point. "You guys are finally back to join us!" Kurita said happily with tears in his eyes. Toganō said "Huh?" Jūmonji said "Huuh?" and Kuroki said "Huuuuuuuh?"

~}i{~

The sportscaster stated that the match between the Deimon Devilbats and the Zokugaku Chameleons will be beginning soon. Kurita was extremely happy. Kuroki asked why they were in the situation, Jūmonji stated: "Would you dare to say that we were looking for negatives?" It was a good point.

~}i{~

Deimon Devilbats vs Zokugaku Chameleons, begin.

~}i{~

Omake Moments:

Sena was finally going to ask. Today he was going to ask. He had to know. Sena swallowed his saliva and headed towards his target.

"What is it, Sena?" Kurita asked the speedster when he spotted him. Sena gulped and finally said, "How long did you know that Hiruma was a girl?" There was a moment of silence between the two. "Oh, I knew Hiruma was a girl the moment I saw her." Sena looked at Kurita in disbelief and quickly ask "How could you know? I mean, everyone else thought she was a boy." Kurita replied in the strange tone that he uses when he's unusually calm "I know it's strange, but I seem to be able to tell whether someone's a guy or gal, doesn't matter what their wearing." Kurita smiled and said with a cheerful tone "Hiruma nearly filled me full of lead when I asked her why she was wearing boys clothing when we first met." 'Wonder why he's so cheerful about remembering that?' Sena thought with a sweatdrop on his brow.

"Sena," Kurita said to get the speedster's attention. "I know this is going to be hard to believe, but despite how she acts sometimes, she's really a good person," Kurita said with a genuine grin on his face. Sena couldn't help but be moved, even if it is about Hiruma. "Soooo, if Hiruma's a girl… what's her real name?" Sena asked his senpai. Kurita didn't understand what the speedster meant, so Sena decided to explain a bit more "Yoichi is a boy's name, but since Hiruma's a girl that can't be her real name." Kurita smiled and said with joy "I haven't the slightest clue, she only told me her name was Hiruma Yoichi." Sena couldn't understand why the giant was so happy about that. Kurita happily added, "I'm not sure why she's pretending to be a boy, but I know she has her reasons, so just be patient with her, she'll eventually tell us." Sena smiled a bit. Maybe Kurita's right. "But there's one thing I can tell you," Kurita said softly, urging Sena to come in closer so no one could potentially overhear them. The giant whispered something into Sena's ear.

Raimon noticed that Sena looked like his soul was missing and asked what happened to him. Sena only replied, "N-n-nothing, just life being cruel." Kurita, on the other hand, was happy as can be. 'I hope that little fact will help Sena and Hiruma become closer,' Kurita thought with a smile, completely oblivious to the state Sena was in.

~}i{~

1: The first person to guess who these three are correct, that person can submit a request for an Omake. Post in the Comment box, please.

2: Debating whether or not to call him Monta or Raimon in this story. He is called Monta throughout the Eyeshield 21 storyline, and I'm debating whether I should call him by his given name or nickname. I am calling him Raimon in this chapter, maybe I should continue calling him by his given name throughout the story, but the nickname is used when they're talking to him. Please help me decide, I'm not sure which one to go with.

3: I decided to just use their names. I found it a little hard to keep calling them by the nicknames that I've given them.

~}i{~


	6. 6th Down: Devilbats vs Chameleons

"Talking" Mostly

'Thinking'

(Author's comment)

~}i{~

When the Chameleons kicked off, the ball hit the ground not too far from where was kicked. But due to the oval shape of the ball, it was bouncing all over the field going in nearly every direction; almost every Devilbat player was unable to catch the ball. Raimon was the only one who was able to catch the ball with ease. The Chameleons' team charged towards Raimon. Seeing Eyeshield 21 nearby, Raimon passed the ball or least attempt to. The ball went in the opposite direction, hitting the man in the business suit that was standing next to Habashira Rui. Hiruma was currently kicking the crap out of Raimon, Kurita ran towards Hiruma to stop her from really doing damage to the catcher, while the rest of the team simultaneously thought 'Why with the ball even fly in that direction?'

After Kurita got Hiruma to stop kicking the catcher, Raimon was in a slight depression due to embarrassing himself in front of the school. Sena/Eyeshield 21 tried to cheer up his friend. Mamori cheered towards Raimon that he did a great catch and not to worry about messing up but to keep up the good work. Raimon immediately cheered up. A few minutes later, Mamori was handing out flyers explaining the rules of Amefuto. As she was doing that, she glanced at the roof of the school, barely seeing Sena's head, and thought 'I can't do it right now, but Sena's already doing it on the roof, so I guess it's all right.' Unbeknownst to Mamori and 99% of the school, the "Sena" that was on the roof was actually a manikin with Sena's hairstyle and school blazer.

~}i{~

The Devilbats were 60 yards (55 m) from the end zone. The Chameleons had a plan, prevent the Devilbats from rushing. They were gathering up in the front waiting for the opposing team to make a move. When Hiruma got the ball she immediately threw the ball over everyone's head. Habashira Rui used his extremely long arms to try to catch the ball, but it was just out of his reach. The only person who was able to catch that ball was Raimon. The monkey immediately ran towards the end zone only to be tackled to the ground, but he did gain 35 yards for the Devilbats.

The crowd was amazed by Raimon's receiving. The Chameleons, on the other hand, were not so happy. Habashira Rui told his team to prevent any rushing since he figured that Eyeshield 21 would take the field next. Meanwhile, with the Devilbats, Hiruma snickered and told Kurita "That guy is absolutely furious." Kurita wasn't sure what the female quarterback meant by that.

~}i{~

The Devilbats were 25 yards (23m) from the end zone. Hiruma was about to pass the ball to Eyeshield 21, confirming Rui's theory. The captain of the Chameleons shouted at his team to stop Eyeshield 21. Only there was one problem, Hiruma didn't actually hand the balls to Eyeshield 21, it was a fake. Hiruma threw the ball high into the air.

~}i{~

'Player Honjou… Although I haven't got any better in baseball, I'll make a promise with ya, I definitely will…' The ball was heading towards the end zone. 'I definitely will... Become a hero… Through Amefuto!' Raimon caught the ball and scored a touchdown. The catcher rolled on the ground and then struck a pose. The crowd cheered for Raimon… Okay, they were actually cheering the name Monta, thus making the catcher shout that his name was Raimon.

~}i{~

The score was now 6-0 in favour of the Devilbats. Raimon and Eyeshield 21 gave a double high-fived to one another. Kurita was very happy. Hiruma gave a hard swift kick to Raimon's backside, Raimon let out a loud Youch. Noticing the Raimon was confused about the kick, Eyeshield 21 explained "If s..HE kicks you without saying anything, he's actually complimenting you. I've only realized that recently…" Okay, that was a little too close, Sena/Eyeshield 21 nearly told Raimon that Hiruma was a girl, again, and almost in front of Hiruma. That would have been very, very, very bad.

~}i{~

The Devilbats got a chance for a try-for-point. Hiruma kicked the ball and the ball hit the man in the business suit, again. Hiruma Youichi's kicking success rate: 35%. Eyeshield 21/Sena couldn't help but think 'I have a feeling that that person has been very unlucky lately.'

~}i{~

The Chameleons managed to score a touchdown and scored their try-for-point via kicking. The score was now 7-6 in favour of the Chameleons. As the Chameleons devised their plan for the next quarter, Kurita muttered that he wished that Musashi was here, Hiruma stated: "We'll just have to touchdown twice as much!" As both teams were getting into position for the next round, Rui stated "Changing tactics according to the enemy's strengths and weaknesses… Battles have always favoured the side attacking last!" Hiruma stated with a devilish grin on her face "Just anticipating the enemy won't do any good… The first side to see through the enemy's battle plans wins!"

~}i{~

When Hiruma got the ball, the Chameleons plan when into action. Three of the Chameleons players have Raimon cornered, while the rest of the team tried to intercept Eyeshield 21. Kurita, along with the rest of the linemen, managed to hold off the maturity of the Chameleons. Hiruma pretended to pass the ball to Eyeshield 21, and then she passed the ball to a shadowy Devilbat. That shadow was actually Ishimaru, he ran straight towards the end zone. Rui managed to tackle Ishimaru with the help of his incredibly long arms, but the Devilbats managed to gain 10 yards (9m).

Kurita happily said "We did it~~~" towards Ishimaru. The #30 running back rubbed the back of his head and said "I didn't think he will be so easy. I was difficult to spot because Hiruma covered me." Chameleon #24 said "Shit… How come we didn't see him? That #30 is to obscure." Chameleon #52 said, "You can't really feel his existence." Rui, wearing the chameleon's jersey #42, stated "Watch carefully! How could you have totally ignored him?" Ishimaru was not even 15 steps away from them as they were talking; it looked like they didn't notice the track and field member at all (Does anyone else feel a bit of irony in the situation?).

Chameleon #63 stated "But that Hiruma guy… He's really good with faking a pass." Chameleon #62 said, "I think that fat-ass is tougher to handle, looks like we need to hold off the centre as well…" Rui looked like he was about to pop a vein.

~}i{~

During the second quarter of the game, the Devilbats scored three touchdowns and the Chameleons scored only one touchdown. Making the score 20-14 in favour of the Devilbats. Rui told his team "No need to show any more mercy. Crush them!"

~}i{~

In the next play, the Chameleons caused three Devilbats to lose consciousness and Eyeshield 21 was knocked across a quarter of the field. Eyeshield 21 was fine, thanks to the result of the funky neck stretching, but the other three weren't so lucky. Sena/Eyeshield 21 noted that the difference in power was too great because he played against a much stronger team, the Oujou White Knights. The three out of play players were taking up the field by structures. Hiruma simply stated that they needed to find three replacements. Rui said "You haven't got three reserves to fill your ranks? It must be tough to have a team without enough players. Brute force is also a strategy." There was no way Sena could ignore that.

~}i{~

Togano, in jersey #53, said "Huh?" Jumonji, in jersey #51, said "Huuh?" Kuroki, in jersey #52, said "HUUUUH?" Hiruma stated calmly "It's your turn to play, Huh Huh Brothers." The trio immediately shouted back "WE AREN'T BROTHERS_!" The trio put on their Amefuto helmets and went on to the field. During the play, the three Chameleons tried doing the same dirty tactics that they used on the Huh Huh Brothers' predecessors, but the delinquent trio easily countered. Hiruma handed the ball off to Eyeshield 21, and the speedster broke through the centre, where Rui was waiting for him. The leader of the Chameleons shouted "YOU'RE FINALLY HERE! I'M GONNA TEAR YOUR BONES APART!"

The two players were running towards one another. Rui shouted 'YOU'RE GONNA WITNESS WITH YOUR OWN BODY… THE FACT THAT I, HABASHIRA, AM THE STRONGEST PLAYER THERE IS!" Rui had a look on his face that seems similar to a chameleon ready to strike. After seeing that look, Sena froze for only a second, but quickly remembered what Hiruma said to him the day before the game, "In Amefuto, you'll win if you scare the opponents out of their wits!". Sena remembered the game against Oujou and comparing that came to the current game, there was nothing to be afraid of. Eyeshield 21 raced out of Rui's range and scored a touchdown.

~}i{~

The crowd cheered. Everyone was completely amazed at Eyeshield 21's running and everyone was wondering who this mysterious player was. Hiruma noticed the look of Rui's face. She smirked and muttered to Kurita "Teeheehee! Victory has been sealed." Kurita didn't know what his friend was talking about, but he figured that she meant that they were going to win.

~}i{~

"HUT!" Kurita handed off the ball to Hiruma. The She-Devil handed the ball to Eyeshield 21. Rui shouted at his team to look carefully at Eyeshield 21. The speedster didn't have the ball in his hands, Hiruma still had the ball. Now the Chameleons were mad, there was no way they were going to fall for the same trick twice. One of the Chameleons' linemen shouted "HE'S GONNA PASS TO THE MONKEY! TACKLE HIM BEFORE HE DOES THAT!" Then the Chameleons' linemen were about to tackle the Huh Huh Brothers at full force, but before they could land a hit, the delinquent trio sidestepped the charge, one of the Huh Huh Brothers commented: "Feel free to break through." The Chameleons' linemen were about to tackle Hiruma, but she evaded them easily and tossed the ball in a completely different direction from where they thought she was going to throw it. Eyeshield 21 caught the ball with ease and grace through the broken chameleon line.

Eyeshield 21 was running right towards Rui. The crowd was biting their nails in anticipation. Hiruma then said to Kurita "Hey, F*ing fat-ass, you know when I said victory has been sealed?" Eyeshield 21 kept running towards Rui. The chameleon Captain tried to anticipate where the running back was going to run, so he stretched out his arms as wide as they could. But Eyeshield 21 easily got past the linemen and scored a touchdown. During the touchdown, Hiruma stated, "In Amefuto, you'll win if you scare the opponents out of their wits!"

~}i{~

The game ended with a score of 46-28 in favor of the Devilbats.

~}i{~

Since the Chameleons lost the match, they had to pay Hiruma ¥5 million, money that they didn't actually have. So, Hiruma "suggested" that the Chameleons use their motorbikes as payment. After a brief moment of begging from the Chameleons to spare their motorbikes, Hiruma agrees but all of the Chameleons had to be Hiruma's slaves in return. You could practically see female quarterback's shadow was in the shape of a devil. 'So that's how he increases the number of his slaves…' Raimon and Ishimaru thought, while Sena thinking along the lines of 'So that how she acquires slaves. Scary…' Kurita, on the other hand, was completely used to it.

~}i{~

From the school's entrance, a figure could be seen leaning against the brick wall. She was 170cm (roughly 5ft 7in), was wearing what looked to be traditional Miko attire, her waist-long midnight black hair was tied back into a loose low ponytail but was hung over her left shoulder, she had soft black eyes, and was wearing a pair of black athletic shoes. She watched the entire Amefuto game from where she was. A smile appeared on her pale lips. 'The two of you haven't changed a bit. Ryokan, you're as strong as ever, perhaps even stronger. And Yoichi, you're still as brilliant as you are devilish,' The Miko thought as she watched Kurita trying to give Hiruma a hug and Hiruma retaliated by pulling Kurita into a chokehold, shouting at the bigger player to not to give her any hugs. The Miko couldn't help but chuckle at the two.

A member of the football/soccer (1) team was on his way to leave the school when he was the pretty Miko standing at the entrance. This guy had small black beady eyes, blond hair that was black at the roots, and was still wearing his sports uniform. Pink hearts appeared in his eyes. The blond player slicked his hair back and was about to go and talk to the Miko, but that was when the Miko decided to take her leave. The player was quite disappointed, at least until he saw a pretty female schoolmate pass by.

~}i{~

As the Miko walked down the sidewalk, she couldn't help but think what could have happened if Hiruma and Kurita stayed at her school. 'Things would have been very different that's for sure. Perhaps he could have actually been friends with Kurita if he took the time to get to know him rather than forcing him out of the school,' The Miko thought as she made her way towards her school. 'It's a shame that he could never see the bigger pictures in life,' The Miko thought as she continued on her way.

~}i{~

After the match, nearly everyone went home, with the exception of Sena and Hiruma; both of whom were in the Amefuto base. The She-Devil had an evil grin on her face, after all, her team won the match and she acquired a new batch of slaves. Sena was dragged into the base with the She-Devil because she said that they put the recordings in the safe. Mamori immediately opposed the idea stating that the Devil was going to bully Sena as soon as they were out of the Honor Student's sight until Hiruma told the auburn-haired student by saying that it wasn't going to take too long. Mamori eventually agreed, but if they weren't by the school's entrance in five minutes, she would hunt them down. The She-Devil nonchalantly stated that they'll be back in four.

Hiruma placed the VHSs in the hidden temperature controlled safe and closed the door. Sena was putting the video camera in another hidden safe. Both of them were about to leave when Sena stepped on a roulette ball, that was carelessly left on the ground, and started slipping and sliding on the little orb, trying to regain his balance. Before Hiruma could react, Sena collided into her, and both were on the ground with Sena on top of Hiruma.

The position that they were in, um… Well… Awkward… Hiruma's left hand was by her head while her right arm was off to the side and her shirt sank onto her figure (Meaning you can actually tell that she was indeed a she), Sena was on his hands and knees with the left hand near Hiruma's head while his right was next to her chest and his knees were practically side by side with the She-Devil's. Both of them had red staining their faces. Neither knew how long they were in this position. Sena finally piped up with an "Ano… Are you okay, Hiruma?" Hiruma got her voice back by saying in a stuttered tone "I-I'll be f-fine if a certain chibi gets off of me!" Sena quickly got off the She-Devil. With both of them sitting on the floor, still flushed red, Hiruma stated "Not a word about what just happened. Got it f*ing chibi?" Sena quickly nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment. They left the Amefuto headquarters soon after, and not a moment sooner. Mamori was just about to search for them. "Hmm?" Mamori noticed that the two were red and asked why they were. Hiruma stated without hesitation that they needed to get the new AC looked at in the Amefuto club because it was practically a sauna in there. Mamori easily believed that.

~}i{~

Later that same night. Sena was lying in bed, under the covers, staring up at the ceiling of his room. His mind kept wandering back to that moment in the Amefuto club. 'She certainly didn't look like the devil she was,' Sena thought before rolling to his side. 'She actually looked kinda cute.' Sena immediately pulled the covers over his head. 'But it's Hiruma… I'm going to have that weird dream where Hiruma's my girlfriend again, aren't I?' Sure enough, Sena did, but this time around he sort of enjoyed it.

~}i{~

Omeke Moments: (Topic Request from Dragonnotte for answering the trivia from the prior chapter. Enjoy)

'Damn it…' Hiruma clutched her abdomen in pain. 'Why now? Right before we were going to do the interviews. Ow… Damn it,' she thought, curling into a ball on her bed. 'And guys wonder why girls are cranky during That-Time-of-the-Month. Those bastards should really go through this kinda crap too. Ow… Damn cramps,' Hiruma thought as she attempted to get out of bed without doubling over in pain as she headed towards the bathroom. She opened the medicine cabinet and took a blue little pillbox. "Thank God for Midol, or else there would have been massacres every month," Hiruma stated before she popped one of the pills into her mouth. She swallowed the little pill and started to relax a bit. 'Now all I have to do is get through the day,' the She-Devil thought. A few minutes later, Hiruma emerged from the bathroom, looking a lot better. She got dressed in her usual school uniform. She grabbed her black notebook and trusty AK-47 on her way out of her room. Hiruma cringed a bit and said "Damn, I still feel like shit, but~ I know what's going to make me feel a lot better~," an evil grin appeared on her face.

The art club and newsletter club were working overtime on making flyers for that Devil. With an evil grin on her face, Hiruma stated to them in her cheery manipulative voice, "Now have all of those done by the end of the day and no one outside this room will ever know about all of those little-hidden cameras on all of your shoes." All of the members of both of the clubs nodded fearfully. With that, the She-Devil left, with her AK-47 in hand. Making the other students quake in fear always makes Hiruma feel better during That-Time-of-Month. Hiruma knew that Kurita would realize that within a couple of minutes after seeing that the school was about to piss itself, but he wasn't going to anything about it. The bigger player knew not to mess with Hiruma when she was PMSing, he's witnessed the result of doing so first-hand (Let's just say that that poor fella now lives with a constant limp in both legs). Right… She needed to deal with the team and practice too… Crap.

"Hiruma-san, why aren't you wearing your gear?" Raimon asked the She-Devil when he noticed that she was still in her school uniform. Hiruma replied almost immediately that it was at the cleaners and would be picking it up after school. Raimon bought the lie, but Sena had his suspicions. So, Hiruma did the practices in her school uniform.

Today of all days was the day that Sena and Raimon were off their game. Okay, Sena was off his game because he didn't want Mamori to find out that he was Eyeshield 21 and Raimon was off his game because he was trying to get Mamori to notice him. It was pretty logical, but thanks to the hormones raging through her body, Hiruma failed to notice. She was currently firing rubber bullets at them for messing up on the passes. Kurita noticed that his friend was being more trigger happy than usual. 'Wait a minute,' Kurita thought as he started counting on his hands, not noticing that both Sena and Raimon were running for their lives, Hiruma shooting at the two, and Mamori was chasing Hiruma and shouting at the devil to stop picking on Sena. Kurita finished counting and came to a conclusion. 'It's been approximately 28 days…Yup, Hiruma has her period…' Kurita thought as he watched the strange race. With a sweatdrop appearing on the back of his head, Kurita thought 'That would explain why Hiruma's being extra violent and cruel today.' Kurita knew what he had to do, making sure that everyone on the team doesn't get on the She-devil's bad side for the next 4 to 5 days.

Other than that, everything was fine, until, during the leg exercise, the Midol decided to wear off. Hiruma clutched her abdomen. "Damn!" Hiruma stated in pain, she needed to take another Midol pill and fast. "Hiruma-san, are you alright?" Sena asked when he noticed that the She-Devil was in pain. Hiruma needed to think of something quick. "I think the dinner I had last night's not agreeing with me. *Hiruma starts walking off the field with one hand on her abdomen, but turns her head to look at her team* You bastards better still be running by the time I get back, understand!" Hiruma stated before heading off. Kurita knew immediately that that wasn't the case and apparently Sena thought so too. It seems as though Raimon and Mamori were none the wiser. The team went back to running, but Sena lagged behind a bit so he could talk to Kurita without drawing suspicion. Raimon decided to use this opportunity to show-off for Mamori, and thus distracting her from Sena. Talk about a perfect opportunity. When Kurita caught up to Sena, the speedster asked in a soft tone, "Is Hiruma having her period?" Kurita nearly tripped over his own feet, but quickly recovered and looked to see if Raimon and Mamori were close, luckily they were quite a distance ahead. Kurita told Sena in the same whispering tone "She is, but please don't do anything to get on her bad side. She isn't the most pleasant person during this time," Sena nodded and whispered "Fine by me, but is it okay if I try something? Don't worry it's not going to hurt Hiruma or make her snap, hopefully." Kurita wished Sena luck.

By the end of the day, the posters were finished and ready to hand out for tomorrow. Hiruma already had everything ready for tomorrow's interviews, and quite frankly, she was glad the day was over. Her period this month wasn't too pleasant, for both her and the school. She closed her laptop and gave a sigh of relief. How was she going to get through the next few of days without ripping someone's head off?

She moved a hanging picture frame of an amefuto player, revealing a safe that she used for one of her laptops and other valuables. She keyed in the code on a number pad, it unlocked, and she opened the temperature control safe. She felt cold air coming out of the safe. Odd, Hiruma was sure that she didn't leave the inside of the safe that temperature. When she opened the safe completely, she saw a neatly folded paper and a plastic cup full of vanilla soft-serve ice-cream with a blue plastic spoon dug into the right of the cup. Hiruma looked at the objects for a few seconds wondering who put them here. I could have been Kurita, but there was only one cup of ice-cream and the giant didn't know the code for the safe. Hiruma changed the temperature, placed her laptop in the safe, took out the ice-cream and note, closed the safe, and moved the picture back in place. The She-Devil sat in front of the table and put the ice-cream on sed table and read the note.

"Hiruma, I know it wasn't your dinner that was disagreeing with you. Mamori-neechan gets cramps during her Time-of-the-Month too, so she eats soft-served ice-cream during that time to alleviate the pain a bit. I know you and she don't see eye-to-eye often, but maybe try doing what she does for those cramps. I mean it's worth a shot, right?

PS: I figured out you were having your period on my own, but I did have to ask Kurita if you liked any ice-cream flavours, so please don't be mad at him.

Sena."

Right… Sena knew the code for the safe. Hiruma read the note again and wasn't sure if she should kill the chibi or not. But she decided to give the ice-cream a try. She took the spoon out of the ice-cream, some of the soft-serve still sticking to the spoon, and placed the oval part of the spoon with her mouth. The ice-cream was actually pretty good, so Hiruma ate the rest of the ice-cream, slowly to enjoy the flavour and the chilled temperature. After taking the spoon out of her mouth, she looked at the note from Sena. The She-Devil placed her index and middle finger over Sena's name, not noticing that her cheeks were turning red. 'Guess I'm not going to kill that chibi,' Hiruma thought as a soft smile traced her lips.

~}i{~

1: The sport that involves a white and black ball, getting said ball into goals with nets, and only the goalie is allowed to use their hands. Am I describing it right?

Gale-Dragon: Next up, The Interviews and Hell's Tower. Will anyone survive? Especially when Hiruma's PMSing?


	7. 7th Down: Hell Tower and the Interviews

"Talking"

'Thinking'

(Author's comments)

~}i{~

7th Down: Hell Tower and the Interviews

~}i{~

Today was the day of the interviews for team recruits and everyone was excited, and the most thrilled was Kurita. Apparently, he didn't sleep at all last night because he was that excited about the interviews. The fliers were distributed and the Devilbats got 100 cream puffs from Kariya, yup, 100, Kurita's idea. They had everything set up and all that they had left to do was to wait for the clock to strike 3:30 PM (15:30). All were hoping that lots of students show up.

~}i{~

Kurita fell asleep in his chair, head on the table. He was dreaming that tons of schoolmates wanted to join the Amefuto club and that Hiruma and Sena were a couple and inseparable. Raimon tried to wake Kurita up, but no avail. The giant remained asleep until Hiruma squirted wasabi paste into his nose, effectively waking Kurita up (Ouch. That's gotta hurt). Tossing the wasabi paste into a rubbish bin, the She-Devil said "F*ing fat-ass! How long are you gonna sleep for?" Both Raimon and Sena made a mental to never fall asleep in the devil's presence. Once Kurita was completely awake, he looked at the clock; it was 4:55 PM (16:55). Kurita was feeling disappointed until Hiruma kicked him and told him to get to work. At first, Kurita didn't understand what the She-Devil meant by that, but when he saw Sena and Raimon heading towards the door carrying trays of water cups, he had to look outside. The whole area outside the club shed was packed with students, all drinking tea and munching on the cream puffs. Kurita stated if he had known that all of these students would be here, he would have gotten 200 cream puffs. No one but Hiruma noticed that Mamori snuck a cream puff. Oh, the She-Devil was not going to let her forget that.

~}i{~

It was time for the interviews. Because of the limited space in the shed, they had to interview one at a time. This was going to take a while, but it would be worth it if they were going to get new members. Mamori stated that she was going to let the first person in and told Sena to show off his skills as the team secretary.

Hiruma and Kurita explained that determining someone's position on the team requires the interviewer to ask what the person wants but the interviewer also needs to watch the person. Basically, someone fitted for offense professional type, someone that can conduct a mission with flair and accuracy, while someone fitted for defence is called a beast type, can catch their prey with a wild instinct. Sena had to ask "So… How do you tell which one's which?" With an evil grin, Hiruma said: "From have a sit." To put it simply, someone who sits with their back straight legs together hands in front of them (someone sitting properly) is considered an offence of type, while someone who's slouching and has their legs apart while they sit is considered a defensive type. Sena mumbled something about him being fit for offence and Raimon stated that he was for defence. Kurita commented that it was just a basis.

The first person came in, he was thin, was relatively average height, the semi-bald teen came in. He closed the door and set properly in front of the team. He introduced himself as Yukimitsu Manabu, second year, class four. Sena asked Yukimitsu why he wanted to join the Amefuto team. Yukimitsu stated softly "I've been… Attending cram schools since first grade. My parents had forbidden me to attend any sort of extracurricular activity… Third years have to prepare for the exams… It'd be such a pity to finish my time in high school like this. Therefore, I'd like to leave with some great memories…" The She-Devil now had an angry look on her face as she snapped "What F*ing Memories? We're Here to Win! F*ing Baldie!" (That's harsh). Raimon thought 'He said it!' While Kurita and Sena thought 'She said it!' Yukimitsu quickly added "I… I will, of course, try to help the team win! Even though I am pretty useless, I will work hard! Even though I'm short and weak… When I saw Eyeshield 21, who was just as short as I am, who has become the hero of the day University of Notre Dame… I felt really moved!" Sena started to sweat a bit. Yukimitsu continued "He is willing to face all sorts of difficulties… I'd like to be just like him…" Sena told Yukimitsu that he was giving Eyeshield 21 too much credit. Mamori immediately thought 'They really don't get along well!' (… How blind could someone be? … Um, don't answer that).

Yukimitsu finished his interview and left politely. It was time to let the next person in. That one smashed down the door. He was a shortly rounded student with spiky hair and a round reddish-brown nose. He landed on the floor with a flop. Kurita said "Wha! What the? Who's this?" Hiruma replied "Who knows! But, I'm sure of one thing. This guy is defence." The student suddenly sprang to life and said " The first year! Class one! Ko… Komusubi Daikichi!" He looked directly at Kurita and stated "App… Apprentice!" Sena and Raimon looked at each other in confusion. What was he talking about? Mamori asked if he wanted to become Kurita's apprentice as she was fixing the door. Komusubi nodded. "So that means… You'd like to be a lineman?" Komusubi nodded vigorously. Kurita smiled as he said "This is great! More helpers in the offence of and defensive line! Let us work hard together!" Komusubi was happy beyond belief. He rushed out of the shed, breaking the door down again as he raced away. Hiruma typed on her laptop as she said: "He's totally the lineman type." Kurita couldn't help but think of the Huh Huh Brothers and wondered why they weren't here yet, maybe they didn't know that there were interviews to join the Amefuto club today (Gotta love Kurita's innocents in this part).

It was decided that it was best to create a statistic list for the reason why the students wanted to join the Amefuto club. So far there was one person for both Faithful Fan of Eyeshield 21 and Loves the power of Lineman.

~}i{~

After our a good few hours of interviews, the majority of the students applying for team membership were fans of Eyeshield 21. Raimon was rather upset by the fact that none of the applicants thought he was cool, he even tried to get someone to say that passes were great. It sort of worked, but the student actually stated that the guy who does the passes was even cooler. Poor Raimon

The next applicant was some jerk named Mitaku, a freshman in class 3, he claims to be "pretty good" but apparently didn't seem to have any loyalty to any of the other sports clubs, which meant he probably won't stay on the Amefuto team for long even if he became a member. He even made a snip on the fact that the Amefuto club didn't have a lot of members and stated that if they let him show up from time to time, he'll consider joining. How high does this guy think his skills are? Raimon didn't like him one bit. Mitaku also commented "Hiruma-senpai, I really respect you. You have both lots of funds and minions. I wish I could become like you." Sena didn't know why, but he hated this guy. Hiruma pretended to yawn.

~}i{~

The sun was now just peeking over the horizon. Kurita was disappointed by the fact that the Huh Huh Brothers never showed up and figured that they got freaked during the match against Zokugaku. Hiruma commented while typing on her laptop "We don't need any wusses with any determination, if those sorts of people join in, they'd drop out real fast." As she was sweeping, Mamori said: "I wish all the people who came for the interviews would last until the very end." Kurita lowered his head and stated sadly "I don't want teammates leaving anymore…" Hiruma thought about all the people who came for the interviews. She closed her laptop and stated, "Looks like, it's time for an entrance trial." The rest of the team looked at the She-Devil with a surprised look on their face.

~}i{~

The next day was a real scorcher and it was the day for all applicants for the Amefuto club to go through a practice exercise and a trial called Hell Tower. Sena and Raimon were currently handing out numbered pins for the applicants to wear. The students were wondering exactly what this "Hell Tower" was.

Yukimitsu looked around at all of the other participants. He couldn't help but think 'Everyone seems so full of energy… It's clear that they're different from me, who has always been doing cram school…' Yukimitsu sat down on a curb wall that guarded the bushes and mumbled to himself "I'm the only second-year student… I couldn't possibly pass the entrance trial, I should never have thought of joining the team…"

Sena was fanning himself with a piece of paper and stated that it was really hot today. Raimon pulled on the neck of his shirt and added: "It sure doesn't feel like May." Hiruma and Kurita arrived on the scene. The She-Devil said happily "What a lovely day, the hotter the better." The two freshmen teammates were confused by what the captain was saying.

~}i{~

Inside the school, the Huh Huh Brother was looking down on the gathering of people for the Amefuto team, literally, they were looking down from a window on the third floor. Komusubi was running a little late and was rushing through the corridors. As the pint-sized powerhouse ran by the trio, he knocked Toganō's manga out of his hand. This, of course, caused Jūmonji to grab hold of Komusubi's shoulder in order to stop him. Komusubi didn't even stop, he simply drags the trio along with him. By the time the pint-sized powerhouse noticed that the three were on him, they are ready to let go and were face planted onto the floor. Komusubi gauges their strength to be very weak, while his mentor Kurita was really strong. When the trio looked up at Komusubi, they could see that he had a look at practically said You-Are-Not-a-Match-For-Me-So-Just-Stay-Where-You-Are. Komusubi then ran off to join the entrance exam participants. Toganō shouted "HUH?", Jūmonji shouted "HUUUH?", and Kuroki shouted "HUUUUUH?". The trio raced after the pint-sized powerhouse, completely forgetting that applicants for the Amefuto team were just outside. By the time they realized that Kurita already spotted them, and they ended up wearing the Devilbats jerseys numbers 52, 51, 53 respectively. The trio agreed to fail all the trial on purpose to ever get involved with the team ever again.

~}i{~

Sena just realized that Mamori wasn't around, so he asked Hiruma was she was. The She-Devil stated that she was already at the trial centre. Looks like the school wasn't where the trails were taking place. Sooooo, where where are they taking place then?

~}i{~

The Deimon Devilbats applicants had to take the bus system to wherever the trial centre was. Many of them were wondering if the trials were in a skyscraper or something along the lines of that. All but Kurita and Hiruma had a look on their face that practically screamed Oh-My-God-!-Is-This-Really-the-Building-That-We're-Going-to-Have-to-Climb?! The building that they were going to climb for their entrance trials was the Tokyo Tower. And apparently, Hiruma book the entire tower for the day. Sena couldn't help but think 'Her information network sure is scary…'

Mamori was standing in front of an ice machine and an entire vat full of ice. She told Hiruma that everything was ready. Hiruma flashed an evil grin then she started firing her AK-47 into the air, scaring all present, and then shouted "LISTEN UP! THE RULES ARE SIMPLE! THE GOAL IS THE SPECIAL OBSERVATORY (an altitude of 250 m)." Kurita quickly whispered to Sena "Try to be the first one to reach the top. If you are, Hiruma will give you a special prize." As Kurita walked away, Sena wondered what this prize was. Hiruma continued her explanation of the rules "THE F*ING FAT-ASS IS WAITING UP THERE FOR SOME ICE! YOU GUYS HAVE TO BRING THE ICE CUBES UP!" Kurita took the elevator up. "BRING AS MANY AS YOU LIKE. FEEL FREE TO COME BACK FOR MORE IF THEY MELT. YOU PASS EVEN IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE SPECK OF ICE LEFT WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT THE GOAL! THEN YOU'RE QUALIFIED FOR THE TEAM!" Sena picked up an ice cube and held it in his palm for a second. The ice cube started melting as soon as it touched his palm. Mamori explained that sugar has been added to make the ice melt faster.

A lot of the students were nervous about taking this entrance exam. Sena already got changed into his Eyeshield 21 persona. Both Eyeshield 21 and Raimon filled up their bags of ice. Eyeshield 21 wondered if they should add more to the bag and Raimon replied "Nah, it'll get too heavy. The less the better, whoever climbs the fastest wins." Then Raimon had an epiphany, if he's the first one to reach the top then maybe Mamori would fall in love with him. Raimon challenged Eyeshield 21 to a one-on-one match to see who gets the top first. A friendly rivalry match between the two friends sounded like a good idea, plus Sena wanted to win that special prize that Kurita mentioned. And the two were off.

~}i{~

Komusubi and Yukimitsu were hauling up huge bags of ice. One was carrying it with ease, while the other was struggling. Not hard to figure out which one was which. The delinquent trio was hardly trying at the task.

~}i{~

Sena and Raimon somehow managed to get past Cerberus, Hiruma's pet Hell hound, but some of the other recruits weren't so lucky. And now they have entered Hell, or at least the Grand Observatory of the Tokyo Tower with the heater turned up waaaaay passed max. You could easily see the heatwave lines in the air. All of the ice in both of their bags melted into water. This meant they had to climb back down to the ground level to get more ice. Hiruma reeeeeeeealy did her worst with this one. Sena could really understand why Kurita said she was not pleasant during her Time-of-the-Month; this Hell Tower was proof of that. This special prize must be really amazing, at least, that's what Sena was hoping.

~}i{~

Toganō, Jūmonji, and Kuroki were going to pretend to climb one more time and then they were going to head home. At least that was the plan until Komusubi scooped up a humongous bag of ice over his shoulder. The pint-sized powerhouse looked at the trio's tiny little bags of ice and gave him a look that stated Is-That-All-You're-Going-to-Take-?-That's-Pathetic-and-You-Guys-Are-Pathetically-Weak. That ticked off the delinquent trio, and they filled up their bags to the max with ice in order to compete with Komusubi. The pint-sized powerhouse was determined to get to the top of the Tokyo Tower before the delinquent trio. The race was on.

~}i{~

Unfortunately, Yukimitsu wasn't having as much good luck as the others.

~}i{~

Hiruma took a Midol pill when she got to the top of the tower. That-Time-of-the-Month is never fun, but she felt a hell of a lot better torturing Mitaku and his buddies. Especially after what they did to Yukimitsu; although, the She-Devil wasn't particularly rooting for the baldy. But this test was to climb the tower by their own means. Hiruma was particularly happy when she shot their ice bags with the pills full of the dehydrates that they put in seaweed bottles, courtesy of the Zokugaku Chameleons. The combination of the dehydrates and the sugared water was a miniature explosion in a plastic bag. Oh yes, the She-Devil was having fun making them squirm.

~}i{~

Sena/Eyeshield 21 and Raimon were neck and neck during their entire race. Raimon managed to pull ahead for a brief second, with one ice cube left in his bag. The receiver burst through the door, rolled on the ground, hitting the wall, jumping into the air, and landed in his signature pose and shouted "FIRST PLACE! ONE FINAL ICE CUBE LEFT!" "It just melted," Hiruma said with a look that stated you-are-really-pathetic. Sena won the race. Raimon's fantasy/dream was utterly crushed. The receiver raced out of the Special Observatory, shouting along the lines of "DAAMMMMIIITT!"

Once Raimon left Sena, still wearing the Eyeshield 21 persona, walked up to Hiruma and asked "Ano… Since I was the first one to reach the top… Can I have that special prize you promised?" Hiruma immediately stated "Huh? What the hell are you talking about f*ing chibi?" Before Sena could ask another question, Kurita accidentally bumped into Hiruma, while he was walking by to get more flavouring for the shaved ice, causing her to fall on top of Sena. Neither one of them fell to the ground, but they were practically nose to nose… Okay, actually they were lip to lip. It took a while for them to actually realize it, but THEY. WERE. KISSING! They quickly went away from one another, with both of their faces were as red as can be. Hiruma turned away from Sena and Sena turned away from Hiruma.

Raimon dated back to the Special Observatory with his bag completely full of ice. He made the team. The catcher realized that his best friend's face was red, so he asked: "Why's your face max red?" Sena nervously replied "I-it must be the heat. Yeah, the heat." The explanation seemed logical and believable, so Raimon believed it.

~}i{~

After roughly 5 minutes or so, around 85% of the applicants quit. Including Mitaku. Mamori was a bit disappointed with all of them quit but knew that they needed to do this trial. She was hoping that at least a few would still press on.

~}i{~

The group in the Special Observatory was eating the shaved ice, or at least Kurita, Sena, and Raimon. Hiruma was typing on her laptop. She was definitely trying her best to NOT look at Sena, and he was doing his best to NOT look at her. By this time, Sena already changed out of his Eyeshield 21 persona.

Komusubi burst through the closed door, rather dramatically and with his bag of ice still full. Kurita praised him, which made the pint-sized powerhouse grinned madly. Hiruma typed on her laptop and stated: "F*ing little fat-ass also passed." Toganō, Jūmonji, and Kuroki were panting as they entered the Special Observatory, all three with their ice bags full. Even Raimon was impressed by how well they did. It looked like there was an intense rivalry between the delinquent trio and the pint-sized powerhouse. Hiruma chuckled out "The f*ing bros passed as well." Jūmonji shouted at Hiruma "WE'RE NOT BROTHERS." Kuroki asked Toganō "Why the hell did we pass the trial anyway?" Kurita was as happy as can be.

~}i{~

The sun has completely set. Everyone in the Special Observatory was just chilling until the trial was over. Mamori came up in the elevator and told Hiruma "There's no one left down there. Everyone seems to have gone back." The She-Devil stood up from her chair and said that the trial was over. Kurita asked her if they could wait a little longer. Raimon remark that you can definitely make it as long as you bring enough ice cubes. That was when Hiruma said "That was the only purpose of this trial… You will survive as long as you have determination."

Yukimitsu fell through the door and landed flat on his face. All present were surprised that he was even there. Mamori, Raimon, and Sena ran to Yukimitsu's aid, while Kurita poured Yukimitsu's bag into a bucket. It looks like the poor kid's bag only had water in it. Hiruma looked at the second-year student. She picked up one ice cube from the table and secretly tossed it into the bucket of water. Sena saw that from the corner of his eyes and quite frankly, he was surprised by that. It kind of made his heart flutter a bit. Did Hiruma actually have a heart or at least a VERY small piece of a heart? Pointing her gun at the bucket, Hiruma said in fake amazement "Oh! There's still one left! F*ing Baldie passed!" All but Sena bought that. Yukimitsu was the happiest person in the world.

~}i{~

When Sena got home, all he could think about was THAT KISS, and his tomato red face showed it. It was nothing like what he thought his first kiss would be like. His first kiss should have been magical, it should have been the stuff of fairy tales, and it should have been pure love. Nope, Sena's first kiss was nothing like that at all. Sena sighed, what was he going to tell his parents about his first kiss being stolen by a she-devil? He touched his lips with his fingers. Hiruma's lips were surprisingly soft. Tears of despair streaked down his face. The She-Devil was going to kill him tomorrow, he just knew it, or just she would make his life completely miserable. Either or.

~}i{~

Hiruma traced her lips with the back of her index finger. How could she be so careless as to let THAT happen? Especially, after the incident in the club shed after the game with the Chameleons? If she had a heart, it would have been fluttering fiercely. Her cheeks turned pink. She wasn't sure it was the hormones from her period or not, but she was feeling really weird. 'Still… That Kiss… did feel… kind of nice…' Hiruma thought warily. 'It has to be the PMS hormones. It's gotta be…' Hiruma reeeeeeeeealy hated having her period. But she couldn't deny that the kiss did feel nice.

~}i{~

7th Down: Scored.

~}i{~

Omake Moments:

Despite what people thought about Kurita, he was actually pretty smart. Despite being the strongest on the team, he managed to get a 3.9 for his grade point average in school, not that a lot of people knew about that though. Okay, true, he couldn't come up the kinds of battle strategies that Hiruma does, but he can certainly understand and memorize them just as well. Only a handful of people actually knew about the Devilbat giant's intelligent; his teachers (after being completely floored by his grades of course), his father, Hiruma, and Sena (Okay, Sena actually doesn't really know, but he has some suspicions that the big guy's smarter than he lets on).

Today, Kurita was very proud that his plan worked. The goofy grin on his face was proof. True, he was excited about getting four linemen on the team, but he was also excited that he got his two best friends to kiss. Yup, Kurita planned the whole thing.

From telling Sena about the "special prize" for being the first one to get to the top to "accidentally" bumping into Hiruma and making her fall on top of Sena for the kiss. He even planned for the "incident" in the club shed that Hiruma and Sena experienced. Yup, Kurita was the one who "left" that roulette ball on the floor. Correct, Kurita wasn't all muscle.

Kurita pulled his phone out and scrolled to the photo section. If his smile could get any bigger, it would split his head in two. On the screen of his phone was an image of the Lightning Running back and the Devilish Quarterback locking lips. Yup, Kurita managed to snap a picture of THAT KISS with his phone (Not like he could use a camera anyway… Wait… HE TOOK A PICTURE!). Kurita knew he couldn't keep that picture on his phone; Hiruma would defiantly kill him if she found out, but he already planned for that. He'll print out the picture and keep it in a small secret drawer in his room.

Kurita looked up at the darkened sky with the twinkling stars. He knew that one day; those two would admit their love for each other, once they realize it of course. Kurita would certainly be there for that.

~}i{~

Gale-Dragon: Kurita's smart, huh, who knew. Anyway, in the next chapter, the Devilbats'll go over routes and watch the match between the White Knights and the Wild Gunmen. And maybe something else will happen.


	8. 8th Down: Routs, the White Knights vs. the Wild Gunmen, and the Hospital.

"Talking" mostly.

'Thinking'

(Author making a comment)

~}i{~

8th Down: Routs, the White Knights vs. the Wild Gunmen, and the Hospital.

~}i{~

When Sena came down for breakfast, his parents knew something was wrong with their boy. After feeding Pitt, the teen sat down and started eating with very little vigour. Sena's mother was the one to finally ask "Sena sweetie, are you okay?" Sena didn't answer; his mind was elsewhere, or in this case, his dream from last night.

Sena wasn't sure how to put that dream into words, but the best way to describe it would be A More Romantically Sweet Version of THAT KISS. 'How in the world am I going to face Hiruma after THAT KISS and THAT Dream,' Sena thought as he mindlessly ate his breakfast. "SENA!" His father got his attention. Sena finally noticed that his parents were looking at him in a concerted manner. "Are you alright, son?" Sena's dad asked. Sena looked down at the table. He knew that his parents would realize it sooner or later. He'll have to tell them, without dropping the Amefuto captain's name of course.

"Ano… Actually… I, ano… Well… I kind of accidentally kissed a, ano, schoolmate of mine. And before you ask, it wasn't Mamori-neechan," Sena finally said nervously, and then added "We kind of met during the first day of school, we don't really talk to each other much and, um, actually we're in different classes and years. We just ran into each other, ano, literally, in the hallway one day and we accidentally kissed. Now the thing is awkward and I don't want that feeling between us." Well, there was some truth to that story. Sena was reeeeealy hoping that his parents buy that story; he didn't think he could add anything more information without accidentally dropping the She-Devil's name.

"Was it your first kiss?" Sena's father asked him. Sena nodded. "Was it her first kiss?" Sena's father asked and Sena replied "Ano… I don't really know…" Sena's mother interrupted the conversation by saying "It probably was dear if she's acting the same way you are about the kiss." Sena was surprised by this, it made sense, but then again the speedster wasn't really looking at the She-Devil to see her reaction… Wait a minute… Does that mean that Sena was Hiruma's first kiss? Oh by the love of… Sena completely shut down. Currently, his parents were trying to get their son's attention and to get him out of that self-imposed shutdown. Perhaps Sena should write his will before he leaves for school. Why? Because Hiruma WAS GOING TO KILL HIM! That's why. Sena was going to miss his parents and all the new friends he made.

~}i{~

Currently, all of the Deimon Devilbats were running laps around the school's block. Okay, the delinquent trios weren't with them, so Hiruma made Sena call them on three separate cellphones, which she happens to have on her. They refused immediately after the request was said. The She-Devil decided to teach the secret Running-back a spell. The spell was the word "Photos". After that word was said, Toganō, Jūmonji, and Kuroki were now running with the team. Sena wasn't sure what was more confusing; the trios' sudden appearance after the word photos was mention or the fact that Hiruma was acting like the KISS never happened yesterday… Sena concluded that the later was more confusing.

Sena took the opportunity to glance at the She-Devil, he immediately regretted that decision. The sun was at the perfect angle to counter the evil aura on the She-Devil, and without that evil aura, Hiruma actually looked… (For heaven sakes, don't kill me for writing this) pretty (Hiruma looked pretty… I wrote it… Don't shot me, and definitely don't tell Hiruma). The determined look in her eyes and the light hitting her face seem to… Sena ran right into a street lamp. Mamori immediately used the first aid box that she always carries around with her on the teen, a little too enthusiastically… Um… to put it simply, Sena now looks like a mummy. Hiruma had her suspicions about the hidden Running-back's "accident".

~}i{~

During the rest of the team's morning exercises, the rivalry between the delinquent trio and the pint-size powerhouse was even more obvious now than it's ever been.

Huh Huh Brothers' Bench Press record; 65 kg.

Komusubi Daikichi's Bench Press record; 110 kg.

The trios were currently trying to outdo Komusubi's bench press record, while the pint-size powerhouse was making sure that he will not be outdone. The She-Devil commented that those four were going to improve rather quickly. Kurita was really happy.

Outside, Mamori was timing Raimon, Eyeshield 21, and Yukimitsu on their 40-yard dash.

~}i{~

After the morning training, the Devilbats were getting ready to attend their classes. That was when Kurita wondered if the Spring Games Regional Finals were today. While on her laptop, Hiruma said casually "Kanagawa prefecture's finals just finished. The champions are… You know who, right?" The giant's face fell to the floor when he said: "It's Shinryūji Nagas, isn't it?" Sena wondered why Kurita seem so down when he said that. "As for the Tokyo city finals…" Hiruma said as she looked at her laptop. "Oh! It's just getting underway!" An evil grin appeared on the She-Devil's face. Wait, does that mean the game is starting right now?

Hiruma showed Kurita, Sena, and Raimon the matchup on her laptop. It was the Oujou White Knights vs. Seibu Wild Gunmen. As the catcher and the running back read the datasheets, they realize that the Seibu team was a recent addition to the tournament. It made the two want to watch the match. Hiruma made the decision to take the entire team to see the game. Kurita positively loves that idea, he was hoping that maybe he could think of a way to get Hiruma and Sena together. At least until Hiruma gave the giant a look that stated I-know-what-you-been-up-to-and-if-you-try-another-stunt-like-what-you-been-doing-you're-a-dead-man. With that, Kurita knew that Hiruma would be more vigilant about his plans. Maybe he needed to be a little bit more discreet about his plans.

~}i{~

The She-Devil called the Zokugaku Chameleons to give her team transportation to the City Eikou Stadium. The said stadium was relatively packed, but the Devilbats managed to find some really good seats for the game. Sena theorized that maybe Hiruma had at hand in it. To the entire team surprise, there was a bunch of cowgirls doing a cheer for the halftime. Sena noticed that one of the Seibu players, whom was wearing a cowboy hat and was in Gunmen jersey #7, was leaning back in a chair muttering something about the first half ending with 20 to 7. Kurita couldn't help but be surprised when he said "7 points means… They managed to score one touchdown!" Both Sena and Raimon were also surprised; they guess that the Wild Gunmen's went all show. The She-Devil told the three to look at the scores carefully. The score was 20 to 7 in favour of the Wild Gunmen!

Coach Shōji was currently yelling at his team. The Gunmen member with semi-long brown hair, ziggy brows, somewhat of a moustache, laid back eyes and that was sitting in the chair stated "Scoring 20 points from the Oujou team… It's going to well. When things go too well, it never ends well." What did he mean by that? That Seibu Gunmen picked up a water bottle, said "Jōdie, Slant!", and tossed it into the air. The next thing Sena knew, he was nearly run over by a young woman in her teens with brownish-black hair that was in a low ponytail with sed hair being the length to nearly reach her elbows, slightly hooked nose, small black eyes, somewhat thick brown eyebrows, and was wearing the Seibu Wild Gunmen jersey #15. 'Wait a minute! She's wearing an amefuto uniform?' Sena thought as he made a double-take, looking at the Gunmen girl. She was holding the now empty water bottle and Gunmen #7 said "I knew it. Things are going too well."

Seibu Wild Gunmen #7 :;: Position; Quarterback :;: Name; Kid, Real Name Unknown.

Seibu Wild Gunmen #15 :;: Position; Receiver :;: Name Tetsuma Jōdie.

Sena couldn't believe his eyes, there was a female player on the Seibu team. 'Wait a minute?' Sena thought as he remembered the Oujou team and looked in the direction of that sed team. He was looking directly at the White Knight's QB. She didn't have her helmet on, so Sena could see her soft features. Sena felt a little embarrassed that he completely forgot that the Takami Ichigo was a girl. 'Hold on,' Sena though trying to wrap his mind around what he's just found out, completely ignoring the weird half-time show, 'There are two girls openly playing amefuto… If they play openly, then why does Hiruma feel the need to hide her gender?' Raimon interrupted Sena's train of thought by saying that the Seibu's coach had a bad hobby or something along that line.

~}i{~

Tetsuma was drinking a water bottle through a straw as Kid said "Our head coach sure is full of energy. I've got a bad feeling for the second half…" The Seibu coach then said in a very excitedly loud tone "FOR THE SECOND HALF AS WELL… LET'S AGGRESSIVELY! CHARGE!" He then pointed his pistols to Tetsuma and said "Tetsuma! You're our main force! Drink water aggressively!" Tetsuma nodded.

~}i{~

With her trusty laptop in her lap, Hiruma read out loud the data off it about the female player on the Wild Gunmen team "Tetsuma Jōdie… Record for the 40-yard dash is five seconds exact, bench-press record 115kg. It's not just statistics that make this gal fearsome." Both Raimon and Sena were utterly shocked at that data.

~}i{~

As Tetsuma drank from the water bottle, Kid said, "If you tell Jōdie the path to take, no matter what sort of obstacles she meets, she'll remain accurately on her track." Twirling his pistol on his index finger, the Seibu coach said "She's just like a real Steel Horse! In other words, a train on its unchangeable tracks." (Oh right, the kanji for Tetsuma means Steel Horse. Talk about name puns).

~}i{~

"Speaking of which, just then," Sena said remembering the run Tetsuma did. Hiruma confirmed that that was a pass route. Kurita said, "Because if the runner doesn't have a pre-determined direction to run, you can't pass." Hiruma started handing out pass routes from a vanilla envelope she conveniently had on her telling the team that they had to memorize ALL 16 of the routes listed. Sena, Raimon, and Yukimitsu looked at the list in utter horror, while Komusubi just looked at the list in confusion. Kurita quickly stated that they didn't need to learn all of them, just some of the good ones. Yukimitsu said "But Eyeshield 21, he… remembers them all without fail, right?" As if she was adding salt to Sena's wounds, Hiruma stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world "Of course. He studied at the University Of Notre Dame after all." Sena felt like he would have a heart attack and wondered if she WAS indeed punishing him for THAT KISS.

"Is Tetsuma really a girl?" Raimon asked his senpais and both Kurita and Hiruma looked at him. "What the hell are you yapping about now f*ing monkey? Of course, she's a girl," Hiruma said in an annoyed tone. Kurita added, "Believe it or not there are other female players in the Amefuto League." This did surprise the entire Devilbats team, Sena included. "REALLY!?" All said in unison. Kurita nodded and said "Yeah, there are currently five of them. Takami Ichigo of the Oujou White Knights *Points to the White Knight's QB*, Tetsuma Jōdie of the Wild Gunmen *Points to the Seibu's Receiver*, Maruko Rei of the Hakushū Dinosaurs, Harao Kimiko of the Taiyō Sphinx, and Kongō Usagi (1) of the Shinryūji Naga." Sena knew that the giant lineman was leaving out Hiruma on purpose. Hiruma was relatively surprised by one of the names on the list and said "That damn rabbit's still playing? Wasn't she hospitalized the day before the semi-final bracket of the Kanagawa prefecture?" Kurita turned to his friend and said, "She was, but the doctors cleared her a few days before the final match." The She-Devil scoffed "F*ing rabbit's got some f*ing willpower. I'll give her that, but if THAT keeps up she's not going to be playing for very long." Kurita had a sad look on his face when he said yeah. 'Did they know this Kongō girl?' Sena thought. Raimon interrupted by saying "Wait! These girls actually PLAY in the games?" Both Kurita and Hiruma nodded, and the giant said, "Yeah, they play just as hard as the guys, and they practice just as hard too." The Devilbats were now looking at the players in a whole new light, but Sena had his eye on Hiruma, the sixth female player in the Amefuto league. The Lightning Running Back couldn't help but wonder why Hiruma was keeping her gender a secret when the other female players were out in the open, so to say.

~}i{~

"Did Tetsuma eat food?" The Seibu coach asked Kid somewhat nervously. Kid nodded yes and added that he even gave her a list of things to eat. The two remembered what happened last year when the coach told the team not to eat too much before the game and Tetsuma ended up not eating for three whole days. The only main problem the Wild Gunmen had with Tetsuma Jōdie was that she'll carry out the orders exactly to the word. Kid scratched his head as he said, "Judging from the first half, there shouldn't be any problems." The coach added "I even told her to drink water aggressively…" that was when they realized the error in that order. Tetsuma was completely bloated with water, Kid quickly ordered her to stop drinking. Water was practically squirting out of her ears when the announcer said that the second half was starting soon. Kid asked her if she was okay.

~}i{~

The second half started, it was Seibu's offence. Raimon asked why the Gunmen's stance was so spread out and Hiruma explained that the stance was called "Shotgun". That was when the Seibu went into action; all of the receivers ran in different directions. Sena asked what the Shotgun was and Kurita explained "It means having receivers run in all directions. Just like bullets of a shotgun." Hiruma added, "Their strategy is totally focused on receivers." Raimon immediately stated that it was a great strategy (No surprise there). The lineman on Tetsuma was knocked over by her, she was on her track and she wasn't changing that path no matter who or what obstacle that was in her way (Strong gal). Sena couldn't help but think that not even Shin could take all of the spread-out receivers himself. Ōtawara shouted that they'll tackle the quarterback before he could pass instead. Two of the Seibu linemen blocked Ōtawara. Komusubi, Kuroki, Jūmonji, and Toganō were impressed by the players in the same position that they play. A huge grin appeared on Ōtawara's face. Shin ran through the opening that the White Knight's giant made for him. The fastest lineman ran straight towards Kid, the Seibu's quarterback. Takami pushed her glasses into place as she said, "Now he won't have any time to pass." The thing was Kid already knew who he was going to pass to and he knew that he didn't even need to have his eyes open to pass the ball to her. The next thing the White Knights knew the ball was no longer in the Seibu QB's hands. The Seibu coach said, "Quick Draw Kid should not be underestimated." Tetsuma caught the ball and gained 14 yards for her team. The Seibu cheerleaders fired their pistols as they cheered (I really hope those things are shooting blanks).

After all that running with a large amount of water, Testuma's stomach finally had enough. The female receiver ran right towards the restrooms and it looks like she's not going come out anytime soon. The rest of the Wild Gunmen were worried about what they were going to do without their main receiver. The coach told them not to lose faith and that they're still in the lead. Kid sat in front of the fence and said "See! I told you so! When things start going too well, it never ends well… I hope Jōdie's going to be okay."

~}i{~

The White Knights made a comeback, they won 21-20. If Tetsuma were still playing, the Seibu would have won. Sena was impressed, not just by the fact that the female receiver would have single-handedly brought her team victory but also by the fact that there were a lot of strong teams that were going to be participating in the Fall Games. Raimon commented that if they wanted to be champions they had to defeat all of those teams. Sena knew that he would face Shin in the finals of the fall games.

~}i{~

Coach Shōji was currently shouting at his team for letting the opposing team score 20 points during the first half (He's harsh). Shin noticed that Eyeshield 21, he didn't know his real name but he knew that the running back saw the game. 'Not only did I play poorly in this game… I did so in front of Eyeshield 21 and in front of *glances at Takami* her…' Shin thought. The only thing Takami Ichigo saw was the aura surrounding Shin, it kind of scared her.

~}i{~

The Oujou White Knights boarded their buses. Ōtawara noticed that Shin wasn't on the bus and asked where he was, then farted. Takami said that Shin was going to run back to the school; she was unfortunately used to Ōtawara's bad habit (Not sure if that is a good thing). Shin was running beside the buses (on the sidewalk, not in the street). 'I will prove to Ichigo that I can support her,' Shin thought as he ran down the sidewalk. Back on the bus, Takami sneezed.

~}i{~

Sena had an idea for the team. The idea was to run back to the school as afternoon practice. The She-Devil like that idea and decided to use it to practice the routes, so that's what the team did the entire way to the school. Every single member of the Deimon Devilbats were practising the routes, even the delinquent trio (who were being motivated by Hiruma of course). During the run, Sena couldn't help but wonder if Hiruma had a good reason to hide her gender. Maybe he could ask when the two were alone… Scratch that idea, the She-Devil would kill him if he asks.

~}i{~

The next day. The first thing that the Devilbats noticed was the fact that their club shed was being majorly renovated. There were construction workers, a scoop, and practically every single construction equipment surrounding the amefuto shed. What was Hiruma doing now? Well, she was having changing rooms installed into the shed. Guess now it was going to become more of a clubroom than a club shed. Kurita did make a point about the team office being too small when the number of the team needs to be increased.

Hiruma stated with her trusty AK-47 resting on her shoulder "I made a deal with the principal. Every time we win, we may expand the office. This time it's too celebrate our victory against Zokugaku." Sena can help but say aloud "To what degree does s, er, HE wants to expand the team office?" Raimon stated that he had absolutely no idea. Hiruma asked the construction manager if they can finish the construction in one week. The 30-year-old head construction worker with a grey bandanna, heavy muscled, and was smoking a cigarette stated "Don't be ridiculous. The cement won't even be dry by then." In an all too serious tone and with the butt over her AK-47 resting on the ground, Hiruma shouted at her team "ALRIGHT! TIME FOR MASS PRODUCTION! YOU GUYS GET TO WORK TOO!" The entire team was flabbergasted and all shouted in unison "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!" Sadly, the She-Devil was not kidding (Come to think of it… Does she ever joke?). Tossing the construction personnel uniforms at each of the Devilbats and said "Helping out with the construction will help train your bodies! Time to build up your basic strength!"

~}i{~

There are four basic training courses for the team, each catering to his/her abilities. Strength Building; for Kurita and Komusubi. Agility Training; for Sena and Raimon. Endurance Building; for Mamori and Yukimitsu. And finally Determination Building; for Toganō, Jūmonji, and Kuroki courtesy of the construction manager (and boy is he tough on them).

After an hour or so of that, both Raimon and Sena sort of wanted to practice their skills. The construction manager noticed that. Hiruma asked the construction manager why they had a mixed cement anyway and if the wood was good enough for the foundation. The construction manager replied somewhat loudly "If you slack off on the base, problems will happen in no time." The She-Devil stated that they weren't going to be using the building for decades, but the construction manager stated that they were using it until the end of the year. It was at a good point. The construction manager tightened his bandanna stated: "To be able to stand firm and unstoppable, that requires a firm foundation, no slacking off!" That statement really hit the Devilbat running back and receiver.

~}i{~

Now that some of the construction was out of the way, it was time to start practising some amefuto. The team was split into two. The defence group had Kurita, Komusubi, and the delinquent trio; who will be responsible for tackling and blocking. While the offence group had Hiruma, Yukimitsu, Raimon, and Eyeshield 21; who will be responsible for rushing and receiving.

The offensive team was currently practising a Hook route with Yukimitsu. He did successfully do that route pass but fumbled the ball when he tried to catch it. Hiruma explained "If Baldie had practised receiving… That pass would have gained 10 yards for us. What do you think? These are receiving basics… Pass routes!" Eyeshield 21/Sena stated happily "The basic sure are amazing!" Raimon then shouted, "The basics are great!" Off to the side, Hiruma was teaching Yukimitsu the proper way to catch a highball and a lowball. From the construction site, the construction manager could hear the team shouting about the basics is the best and couldn't help but smile.

~}i{~

By the end of the day, the entire team was Exhausted. Nearly falling out of his chair, Raimon said: "Trainin', after construction work is a killer…" Kuroki groaned out "Do we hafta do this killer trainin' every day until the changin' room's finish?" The construction managers stated, "It'll take at least three weeks if the old man hadn't been hospitalized, it probably could've been finished earlier." Hiruma commented, "He's still not out?" The construction managers stated that he wasn't.

That was when Sena realized something. "Right… We still haven't paid Sakuraba a visit yet," Sena finally said. But because of his idol status, where he's been hospitalized was kept all hush-hush, so that all of the fans wouldn't disturb him. The construction manager said "My old man is at Joukamachi Hospital. Since the middle of April… There's someone in room 418 with broken bones due to the playing of amefuto. I heard that he's in showbiz. I remember that he's Sakura-something of the Jari-Pro agency." That was him!

~}i{~

Both Sena and Raimon were heading towards Joukamachi Hospital. Sena figured it would've been better for him to visit as a secretary representing the Deimon Devilbats rather than going as Eyeshield 21, especially after what a certain She-Devil said on that television program. He really needed to explain that it was a misunderstanding. Raimon went with him so he could ask Sakuraba for tips on becoming popular just like him. Sena wondered out loud "Why do people always treat others like heroes without permission?" Raimon explained "Cause that's how guys are! We gotta have a hero in our minds that we aim for! Your hero is Shin, while ma hero is player Honjou and Master Sakuraba." The moment the word Sakuraba was uttered, the two Devilbats were surrounded by a horde of Sakuraba's fangirls, all of whom were demanding if they knew what room the teen idol was in. (That's gotta be uncomfortable). Luckily, the two Devilbats managed to weave through the crowd with the Slice In passing route and get into the hospital. Unfortunately, the horde followed the two into the hospital.

Here's a good news/bad news moment. Good News; Sena and Raimon were hiding behind a couple of large potted plants, completely out of view from the horde (This is a perfect example of where being short comes in handy). Bad News; they couldn't move from where they were without being spotted by any of the fangirls. They were trapped.

A young woman, probably a year older than the two hidden Devilbats, with long midnight black hair loosely tied back in a low ponytail that hung over her left shoulder, stood around 170cm (5ft 7in), soft black eyes, pale lips, and was wearing the blue hospital gowns, came around the corner near where the two were hiding. Sena heard the young woman mutter something along the lines of "Again…" One of the fangirls went up to the raven-haired teen and asked if she knew which room Sakuraba was in. The ravenette asked, "Are you talking about the teen idol?" The horde of fangirls gathered around the ravenette asking again about the room that the White Knights' receiver was in. "He's not in any of the rooms," the ravenette said calmly and then added, "He was transferred to another hospital last night." There was a surge of "Aww"s, "No way"s, and "You're kidding"s. The ravenette said she didn't know which hospital Sakuraba was transferred to, and with that, the entire horde of fangirls left the hospital in utter disappointment. The two Devilbats were close to having the same feeling of disappointment but the feeling only lasted until they herd the ravenette say "Perfect. Now the hospital will go back to its nice, quiet, peaceful, healing self now that those inconsiderate brats are gone." Both Sena and Raimon came out of their hiding place, which did surprise the ravenette a bit.

Sena finally spoke up "Ano, did you just say that Sakuraba-san wasn't at this hospital just to get rid of them?" The ravenette nodded and explained that those fangirls were not only bugging the doctors and nurses about the teen idol, but they were also bugging the other patients and hospital visitors. The two Devilbats could understand why the ravenette did what she did. With all of those fangirls annoying everyone inside and outside the hospital, no wonder she had to lie to get rid of them. 'Hold on…' Sena took a good look at the young lady. She was pretty and she was wearing a hospital gown. 'Is she a patient here too?' Sena wondered but didn't say, after all, that would have been rude.

The ravenette noticed the Deimon school uniforms that the two were wearing. "Are you two students of Deimon High?" the ravenette asked. Sena nodded and said "We're also part of the Devilbats Amefuto team. We're actually here to apologies to Sakuraba-san on behalf of Eyeshield 21." She smiled and said, "I've heard of him, but why doesn't he come himself to apologies?" Sena shakily explained, with a picture of a certain she-devil in his head, that there was a bit of a misunderstanding and it would have been very awkward for the two to be in the same room. With the smile still on her face, the ravenette said that Sakuraba was on the fourth floor in room 418. The two Devilbats were about to thank the ravenette but they realized that they didn't know her name. "Sorry. I didn't introduce myself," the ravenette said and the two Devilbats apologized as well since they too didn't introduce themselves. The ravenette introduced herself as Usagi. Sena introduced himself as the Devilbats' secretary and Raimon introduced himself as the Devilbats' receiver. "I do believe I should also warn you that the White Knights team is already in Sakuraba's room," Usagi stated with that soft smile still on her face. The two thanked Usagi and were about to head off to the fourth floor. "Sena, Raimon," Usagi suddenly said, making the two look in her direction. She smiled again and said "I know I'll be seeing the two of you again. Oh, and tell that devil of a captain of yours that he still owes me a date." Before she left. Both Sena and Raimon blinked in confusion. What did she mean by that? Wait a minute…

Did she just say that Hiruma owes her a DATE?! Sena nearly had a blackout, until he remembered that only he and Kurita knew that Hiruma was a girl. 'Riiiiiiiight, to everyone else, Hiruma's a guy, so I guess her saying something like that makes sense,' Sena thought with a red hue on his face 'But who would want to date someone like Hiruma?' The running immediately retracted that thought, he knew that HE wanted to at least try to ask the She-Devil out even if he knew that she'll say no. Raimon was in total disbelief as he thought 'How on earth did that horrible devil get the attention of a pretty girl like that?'

~}i{~

The entire White Knight team, who somehow managed to fit into the room, were happy to see that their receiver was healing up well. Every member brought some kind of get well gift for their teammate. The one thing that really made Sakuraba happy was the fact that one of the nurses said that she'll deal with getting rid of the horde of fans outside the hospital. Well, at least he thought she was a nurse; after all, she did seem to know the hospital like the back of her hand, knew all the rules, and knew all the staff by name, but she was wearing the hospital gowns... Don't get him wrong, Sakuraba loved his fans, but he just didn't like the ones that were completely obsessed with him and he wasn't in any shape to really handle any of them.

It was time for the team to leave. Shin was the last person in the room. He really wanted to ask Sakuraba about how to earn Takami-chan's affection, seeing as he was popular with the lady and all, but Sakuraba got in the first word "Shin, tell me the truth. If I was on the field… Would we really have won the game against the Sangaku Punks easily instead of winning by one point?" After a moment of silence, Shin finally said "No… It probably wouldn't have made a difference." Somehow, Sakuraba knew that was going to be the answer. Shin left, he knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to ask his question.

~}i{~

(I'm going to apologies now for not including Sakuraba's flashback in this story, but because of the fact that I'm gearing this story more towards Sena and his team at the moment, plus it's a bit too long. Sorry to all Sakuraba fans).

Sena and Raimon somehow managed to miss the White Knight team. The two entered Sakuraba's room with some smiles. Sena handed Sakuraba a basket full of fresh fruit and said he had a letter from Eyeshield 21. Sakuraba immediately said sadly "I know he didn't mean to run into me… I was the one who charged onto the field without thinking. It wouldn't have done him any good to injure me on purpose… Even without me, Sakuraba Haruto, it wouldn't have made a difference in the overall strength of the Oujou team." The two Devilbats were rather surprised by what they just heard.

Sakuraba's hospital roommate, a young boy in elementary school with short spiky brown hair and a missing canine looked through the curtain that divided the two. He was curious, he heard the words Oujou and Sakuraba, he knew those names and when he saw the blond teen, he immediately knew who was next to him. The kid pulled the curtain completely aside and shouted with excitement "Wow! I don't believe it! You're really Sakuraba! Autograph! *grabs his backpack near his bed so he could pull out something* I need your autograph!" Sakuraba took out a marker and asked if he was signing a cd or autograph paper. The kid asked the teen idol what he was talking about as he pulled out an amefuto ball and said "I've only seen one Oujou White Knights' game. I didn't think you could have caught the ball just like that. Ever since then, I've always remembered your name… Oujou White Knight Receiver Sakuraba Haruto, you're my kind of hero."

As Sakuraba signed the ball, the kid asked if he could write 'to Torakichi'. That must have been the kid's name. Sakuraba asked Torakichi if he played amefuto and the kid replied that he didn't have an amefuto team at his elementary school, but he did play touch amefuto. Torakichi explained that he saw an Oujou game last year after his game was finished and he saw Sakuraba catch that incredibly high pass for a touchdown. Torakichi stated that Sakuraba was amazing and wanted to be just like him when he gets taller.

Sakuraba lowered his head and said solemnly "That one catch was… merely a coincidence." All present company was surprised by that statement. Sakuraba continued "Other people always do as they like and turn me into a hero… You guys probably don't know how much pressure it is, eh?" Sena thought that Sakuraba was in the same position that he was in, or more along the lines of the same position as Eyeshield 21, and softly said "No… I can understand this…" Sakuraba added "Everyone expects so much from me, and put their hopes on me… Hero? To tell you the truth, I'm really troubled." Raimon was officially mad, he jumped up onto the railing of the hospital bed (Without his shoes… Wait, when did those come off?) And shouted angrily "HEY! HOW COULD YA SAY THAT? IT'S A BOTHERSOME THING WHEN PEOPLE TREAT YA LIKE A HERO? HOW CHILD YA SAY SOMETHIN' LIKE THAT TO YOUR FAN? F* I HAVE BLINDED ALRIGHT! YOU AIN'T MY MASTER YOU'RE AN F* USELESS LAMER!" Then Raimon got into a fight with Torakichi, and boy was it a weird fight. With his eyes cast onto the blanket, Sakuraba said "Could you guys please pass this message on to Eyeshield 21? Please tell him that to have involved him in this accident with a small minion like me… I'm terribly sorry…" Torakichi couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Sena didn't want this kind of thing to happen, especially not in front of a kid like Torakichi. The running back looked that the folded letter. He unfolded the letter and said out loud "From Eyeshield 21 to Sakuraba… Because player Sakuraba was hurt and hospitalized, um… Oujou team's passing abilities were greatly decreased! I think I was so lucky!" That wasn't what was written on the letter, but Sena really wanted to cheer up Torakichi and Sakuraba. Well, the kid was happy. Raimon just had a lightbulb. With a smile on his face, Raimon said "That's right! He even said the strongest hero can only be defeated by a killer tackle!" Sena soooo didn't like what his friend said. The Devilbat catcher picked up the signed amefuto ball, which fell to the floor when Torakichi cheered after what Sena said, and handed the kid the amefuto ball. "Be careful with this. It is your most important treasure," Raimon said, actually sounding kind of cool there.

It was time for the two Devilbats to leave, but before they can do so, Sakuraba said "When you to see Eyeshield 21… Could you tell him… That he did overestimate me… But not for long." A smile appeared on the teen idol's face, it made Torakichi smile as well as the two Devilbats. Sena said that he would.

~}i{~

Raimon apologized to his friend for turning him into a badass again. Sena stated "It doesn't really matter what others think. Whether I'm treated as an evil hero or a hero from the University of Notre Dame. Because if I don't become as strong as that… There's no way we can get into the finals." With a determined look on his face, Sena said "I gotta get stronger… And make the lies a reality."

~}i{~

A while after the two Devilbats left the hospital, Torakichi and Sakuraba became rather close (And by close and I mean that they became good friends). The White Knight's receiver learned that Torakichi was in the hospital for a broken leg that he got in a car accident and Torakichi learned a couple of cool facts about the White Knight team. Torakichi told Sakuraba that he was having his first and last amefuto of his elementary school. They were really getting along and everything was just fine until the doctor came in and told Torakichi that he wasn't going to be able to walk for at least a year or two and that it all depends on how much effort he put into his rehabilitation. Now the kid was depressed, he explained that his teacher told him that if he works hard for six years, anyone could be a regular player. But now there was no way he could play, not for a long while. That was when Sakuraba made his decision. He told Torakichi that he made up his mind and "I'm gonna practise hard until that one super catch you saw will no longer be a mere coincidence. I will become stronger." Once he was healthy enough to get out of the hospital, Sakuraba was going to practice until he really became the White Knight's ace.

~}i{~

8th Down Scored

~}i{~

Omake Moment:

Sena and Raimon made it safely to their club shed, well the part of their club shed that wasn't under renovation. It was a long walk so they were relatively tired when they got there. Although Sena was happy that he saw Sakuraba and that he cheered up the teen idol and kid, the one thing that kept coming back into the running back's head was that Usagi girl from the hospital. Sena couldn't help but think about what she said. Was Hiruma really willing to date a girl to keep her real gender a secret (Come to think of it… Does Hiruma actually go on dates? I'm just curious…) or if she actually swings that way? Sena had to ask if he wanted to know the truth, but he does need to word it so the team doesn't catch on to Hiruma being a girl.

Before the running back could say a word, Raimon jumped in front of Hiruma, who was currently on her laptop and shouted "ALRIGHT SPILL, HOW ARE YOU BLACKMAILING HER TO DATE YOU?" Hiruma didn't look up from her laptop as she said flatly "I'm not currently blackmailing the f*ing manager and I'm sure as hell not f*ing dating her." Mamori had a look on her face that shouted Oh-my-stars-!-What-in-heaven's-name-are-to-talking-about-and-what-in-the-world-are-you-implying-?! "I'm not talking about that Mamori-chan, I'm talking about that nice Usagi-chan," Raimon said with a serious look on his face. Now Hiruma was sporting a confused look on her face when she said "What the f* are you talking about the f*ing monkey? What does a f*ing rabbit have to do with dating the f*ing manager?" Sena decided to cut in, before the She-Devil kills the receiver, by saying "Ano… Actually… when we went to see Sakuraba-san, we ran into another patient at the hospital who, ano, seems to know you and, ano, that you owed her a date… she said her name was Usagi…" Now everyone in the shed was interested, Hiruma included. "Was she somewhat tall with black eyes, a year older than you two, and long ebony hair tied back in a low pony-tail or braid that's hung over her left shoulder?" Both Raimon and Sena nodded, that was the girl. Hiruma went back to her laptop, frantically typing something. When she was done, she turned her laptop so that the two could see what was on the screen. "This a picture of the Shinryūji Naga team from when they won the Kanagawa finals. Take a good look at their quarterback, #12," Hiruma stated plainly.

The entire team, minus Kurita and Hiruma, leaned to look at the picture. The delinquent trio, Yukimitsu, Komusubi, and Mamori looked at the picture; they looked like a strong amefuto group in their black jerseys with some two-tone gold detail, all with their helmets off. But Sena and Raimon's eyes were immediately drawn to the player in jersey #12. That was her! Okay, yeah, her hair was in a braid in the picture, but that IS her! The Usagi girl from the hospital! She was a player on the Shinryūji Naga team! The receiver and hidden running back couldn't believe their eyes. "Wait ya mean that SHE's an amefuto player?!" Raimon exclaimed quite loudly. "Yup," Kurita said and then explained, "She's Agon Kongō's older twin sister." The giant then pointed to the player in the #2 jersey, who was standing right next to Usagi. He had shoulder-length brownish-purple dreads, orange shades, and looked to be around 175 cm (5'9"), making him a bit taller than his female companion. 'He looks familiar…' Sena thought to look at the dread-head.

Hiruma decided to tell her team about those two "The Kongō twins are practically the f*ing Shinryūji Naga's secret weapons. That f*ing Agon's a monster on the field, while Usagi can pass the ball from practically anywhere on the field. They're going to be a hell of a problem when we battle them on the field. If you think the White Knights were unbeatable, then the Shinryūji Naga's are practically invincible." The atmosphere seemed to feel heavier at the moment. Sena couldn't help but wonder how someone who's that strong on the field was a patient at a hospital.

The sun was setting over the horizon by the time the entire team and all of the construction workers went home, well… Not the whole team. Hiruma and Sena were the only ones in the shed. They were a good distance apart from one another. Sena was giving Hiruma a serious look, the She-Devil was actually impressed by this and was smirking.

Sena told Mamori that he was going to help Hiruma with the club's inventory, and of course, Mamori immediately told Sena that he shouldn't be with Hiruma alone. The running back wondered if the reason why she was so against him being with the amefuto captain had something to do with the weird stuff she was shouting about when she burst into the club shed when Hiruma was helping him with his math homework, (Looks like he still doesn't understand that… Ahhhh, you don't that kind of innocents very often). After about five minutes of convicting, Mamori finally lets him go back to the shed, alone; on the condition he calls her as soon as he's finished with the inventory.

Sena asked his captain "Are you really just going to date that Kongō girl just so you can keep your gender a secret?" With a smirk on her face she said almost mockingly "Ooooohhhh~ Don't tell me that it actually bugs ya." "I'm serious Hiruma-CHAN," Sena said with that look still on his face. The She-Devil raised a brow, frowned, and said in her threatening voice "I thought I told you that if you want to sire any children, you keep your mouth shut about THAT." Sena pointed out that they were the only ones in the shed and added: "Now answer the question, are you really going to date her?" Hiruma folded her arms and smirked, she really liked this side of Sena, so she was going to milk it a bit to see how long the running back can hold this persona. "I never actually thought about dating her, since I utterly hate that f*ing dread-headed brother of hers… Ooohhh! I see. You gotta crush on the little rabbit, huh. Don't tell me you're jealous that she wants to date the Devil of Deimon High and not the little secretary of the Devilbats," Hiruma's smirk widens when she saw the look on Sena's face darken and his fist tightened. "Yeah… I'm jealous…" Sena finally said.

Okaaaaaaay… Hiruma wasn't expecting the running back to break That quickly. The next thing the She-Devil knew, Sena was right in front of her. The running back grabbed the collar of her blazer and pulled her down into a full-lipped kiss. Hiruma was completely stunned. She deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeefiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaantly didn't see that coming.

Sena finally broke the kiss after a good minute or so and said: "I'm jealous that she wants to date you too." Hiruma was speechless, completely speechless. She didn't think the chibi could ever do something like this. Sena then dashed out of the shed. Leaving the She-Devil alone in her thoughts.

What… The… Hell… Did… He… Just… Do..? Oh, Kami… What was Sena thinking? Okay, yeah, thinking about what Usagi said about Hiruma owing her a date probably sent him over a bit, but still… What Was He Thinking? Tomorrow, Hiruma was going to shoot him, kill him, skin him, rip him to shreds, and feed him to Cerberus. But…. The kiss and confession were well worth it.

As soon as Sena got home, more specifically his room, texted Mamori rather than call her. He didn't think he could keep his voice calm enough to talk to his childhood friend. Okay, now he felt like panicking. How is he going to survive Hiruma's wrath when she sees him at school? It is official, Sena's a dead man.

Hiruma was still processing the information when she got home. "Date you too…" the She-Devil muttered to herself as she sat on her bed. Her face turned crimson red, it finally hit her. The chibi… LIKED her. Cerberus walked into his room, jumped onto his bed, and fell asleep.

~}i{~

Omake Moment End.

~}i{~

1) For those who really don't know, Usagi is Japanese for rabbit or bunny. Most of the jokes or some of the nicknames for her in this story are rabbit theme.

~}i{~

Gale-Dragon: … Um… Did Sena really just… Yeah… Anyone have any idea if Sena's going to survive? What does Hiruma think about it? Wait… Will the rest of the team find out? I really dug myself into a ditch, didn't I…


	9. 9th Down; The Lost Dog, and The Magazine.

"Talking and Quotes"

'Thinking'

(Author making a comment)

*Action when talking*

~}i{~

9th Down; The Lost Dog, and The Magazine.

~}i{~

Three weeks. THREE LONG PAINFUL WEEKS of helping the construction crew and harsh training and the amefuto club base was nearly finished with the renovations. The grand opening would be in two days. The entire team was relieved that the whole thing was almost over, but no one was more excited than Sena. Hiruma didn't kill him like he thought she would, but during the three-week construction, Sena really wished that she did. She was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeealy torturing the running-back, but he had no regrets about his confession throughout the entire torture. Guess you can say that the only thing that kind of confused the Running-Back was the fact that the She-Devil never brought up the Club Kiss in any way what-so-ever, but there was no way he wasn't going to mention it because he was worried that she would increase her torture. Sena supposed that the only good thing about the whole thing was that Hiruma didn't have her period yet; she probably would have killed him if she did (Just a recap about this fact, a woman's period is roughly every 28 days or so. Time-wise, the last chapter took place around 19 days ago, when Hiruma's period was just about finished; therefore, the She-Devil does NOT have her period at the moment).

Hiruma forced Sena to wear 2.5kg (5.5 pounds) weights on EACH of his arms AND legs for the ENTIRE three weeks of construction AND practice. Okay, yeah, it didn't sound like much, but try to wear that weight on you when you're doing the heavy lifting and running (Poor Sena). Stuff really weighs you down quickly; no pun intended. It was just pure luck that Sena didn't collapse on the street before he got home. A couple of times throughout the three weeks, Sena had suspected that Hiruma was increasing the weights, but he had really no way of proving it.

The only people who were aware of this torture was Hiruma, of course, because she's the one who's doing it, Sena, the poor victim, and Kurita, whom just so happened to be the one to walk in on the She-Devil forcing the weights on Sena. Being the kind-hearted giant he was, Kurita told Hiruma that she was going overboard with the training. After shooting him with her AK-47, Hiruma stated: "Who's the F*ing Captain Here?" Sena told Kurita that it was his fault that this is happening (Technically it is…). Kurita told Sena not to push himself too hard. "Exactly what did you do to get Hiruma to get so worked up anyway?" Kurita asked Sena curiously. The running-back caught the She-Devil giving him a glare that said tell-him-and-I-will-make-sure-that-you-will-die-where-you-stand-f*ing-chibi. Sena managed to stutter out an "I r-re-al-y d-d-don't want t-to t-talk a-about it." Now Kurita wasn't sure if he even wanted to know.

~}i{~

It was morning the next day and at the moment; Sena, Raimon, and Mamori were on their way to Deimon High. It was a pretty ordinary morning for the three, at least until they stumbled across two men trying to haul a big brown and black dog, which kind of looked like a Doberman without a docked tail or the cropped ears, into a car. The dog obviously didn't want to go into the car and was trying to bit the two men. At first, the three thought that they were going to, or attempting to, take the dog to the vet, but one of the men said in an agitated tone "Damn mutt, Get into the Damn Car." Okaaaaay, that's not how you coax a dog into a car… The dog somehow got ahold of one of the men's leg and bit down, hard, and causing the man to shout in pain. The screaming caught the attention of a nearby police officer and the two men bolted when they saw him, leaving the dog and the car behind.

What was the heck was that about? The dog sniffed Sena a bit then looked up at him with those big innocent black eyes.

~}i{~

Hiruma was currently glaring at the manager, receiver, and secretary/running-back. She really wanted to shoot the three with real bullets at the moment. "Care to explain why you guys brought "That Thing" here?" The She-Devil stated as she pointed to the "That Thing", which so happens to be the dog that was almost dognapped. The three did explain that whole situation to Hiruma, and that the dog seemed to really like the three so the police officer asked them to look after the dog while he asked around the area to see if anyone was missing a Doberman since the poor dog only had a collar and the part of her ID tag that showed that her name was Isako (Cute name for a big dog). They told the officer that they were students at Deimon High so that they could be notified when Isako's owner could be found. Isako sniffed Hiruma during the explanation and then she laid down right next to her, for some reason the Doberman seemed to actually be comfortable around the She-Devil.

After the three finished explaining, Isako yawned, showing everyone her big, sharp teeth. It didn't seem like the dog was worried, come to think of it… She was waaaaaay too calm considering what just happened. Weirdest thing that was happening right now was that Isako seemed to think that Hiruma was the nicest, sweetest, most loving person in the whole wide world. (Does anyone feel sorry for that poor, poor dog?).

~}i{~

Yukimitsu did confirm that Isako was indeed a Purebred Doberman, after looking through a dog breed book and looking over the big dog. Raimon looked at Isako and asked why she had a tail and floppy ears since all of the Dobermans that he's seen have pointed ears and a stump of a tail. The scholar explained that the Doberman breed is actually born with tails and floppy ears and that the tails are docked and their ears are cropped to give them a more menacing appearance since the breed was created to look menacing. Mamori stated that that was cruel to do that to a dog and patted Isako on the head and said cheerfully "But it looks like your owner really cares about you to not do something as horrible as that." That was when Isako walked over to Hiruma, who was polishing her precious AK-47, and flopped down right next to her. The entire team thought it was weird, Hiruma included. Why did this dog so attracted to the She-Devil? Come to think of it, why wasn't the principal or any of the teachers coming out to ask about the Doberman? Sena concluded that the school staff probably thought that the Doberman belonged to the She-Devil.

~}i{~

It was during the team's amefuto training exercise that they realized the reason why Isako seemed so comfortable with Raimon, Sena, and Mamori, not to mention the rest of the team. Her owner must either be an amefuto player or is an amefuto fan because she was actually participating with the team with their training, well, either that or she just loved to go after the ball. At least, that's what everyone figured until Hiruma threw a spiral for Raimon to catch. It was an easy catch for the receiver, but he was thrown off by the Doberman jumping in front of him and caught a ball with her mouth. This shocked every member of the Devilbats, especially when she dropped the ball directly in front of the She-Devil, almost as if she wanted Hiruma to throw the ball again as her tail wagged. The She-Devil cackled and stated mockingly "Looks like this gal wants to join the team, maybe she'll be a better receiver than the f*ing monkey." The She-Devil picked up the ball, getting ready to throw it again and getting the big dog excited. Now Raimon was pissed off and fired up. A sweatdrop appeared on Sena's head as he thought 'It shouldn't really surprise me that she does this kind of thing. Hmmm, but I wonder who Isako's owner is though?' Using an Amefuto ball to play fetch… Hmmm.

~}i{~

The only thing that worried the team was Cerberus. Honestly, that beast could really make a crocodile cry real tears, before eating the reptile. Everyone but Hiruma thought that Cerberus would really kill the Doberman. So when the demon dog saw the big dog, they started to panic. But the unexpected happened with Cerberus, something that not even the She-Devil could ever see coming. The Devil Dog brought the Doberman a bouquet of roses … Wait? What?! The entire Deimon Devilbat team made a double-take… Ano?... Ano... Oh… OH!... The Demon Dog fell in love with the Doberman… Ano… Wow… (Sooooooooo didn't see that coming… Ano… So Hiruma's dog DOES have some kind of heart… Huh, who knew).

It looked like Isako didn't return the demon dog's feelings and snapped at him when he got too close. Cerberus kept on "Courting" the Doberman. It was a reeeeeeeeeeeeeeealy a weird sight. Weirdest thing yet, no one was really sure who to feel sorrier for…

~}i{~

It was lunchtime, so everyone was eating lunch. Well… Isako wasn't eating anything that was offered to her, not the dog food that the team had for Cerberus and not the human food that some of the other students was trying to offering her. Yukimitsu wondered if it was because she was a big dog breed, if she was on a special diet, or if her owner only fed her a certain brand of food. Either way, it was a problem, since no one knew when the last time she ate.

Somehow, Kurita pulled out a giant onigiri from who-knows-where. Isako sniffed the air and immediately followed her nose towards the Devilbat giant. The Doberman sat in front of Kurita and looked up at him with her tail wagging happily and her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Was she interested in the onigiri? "Kurita, what's in that?" Sena asked when he saw Iasko sitting in front of the giant. "Salmon and chicken," Kurita replied before looking at the Doberman, who was giving him her best puppy dog eyes. (Awwwwwww). Kurita's heart melted, so he tore the onigiri in two and one of the half into a bowl for the Doberman. Isako happily ate it. Salmon, chicken, and rice for dog food, it was a bit strange? Yukimitsu did explain that the three were actually good for dogs, but still… The Devilbats ate their respective lunches in silence. Who was the owner of this Doberman?

~}i{~

After lunch, a man with a police officer came by the school. He was well dressed, short black hair that was combed back, dark brown eyes, and old brown shoes. He came to the school because the police officer told him that three Deimon High students had his dog. Oh, it was the same officer that Sena, Raimon, and Mamori ran into earlier today. So this was Isako's owner… Wait a minute… Why was she growling at him? While the rest of the team talked to the man, Sena and Hiruma noticed that the Doberman was not happy to see the man. Her teeth were bared, she was keeping her body close to the ground, her ears seemed to press to her head, and her tail was stiff. Isako was ready to attack the man!

"I don't think this is your dog," Hiruma stated plainly, stepping between the dog and the man. "In fact, I think you're in cahoots with the two who were trying to dognap this poor fella here," Hiruma stated with a menacing smile on her face. Sena agreed with her, but Raimon didn't and said: "Come on, are you really that evil as to keep a man away from his loving dog?" Hiruma cackled and said, "You really underestimate me Monta, and this guy isn't the dog's owner." She moved to the side revealing to everyone the Doberman's growling form and asked: "Does this look like a dog that's happy to see its owner?" Now Isako looked as menacing as her breed was meant to be.

The officer piped in, with his arms folded, "If this is really your dog, call it over." The man clapped his hands and said "Come here, buddy! Come here, boy!" The Doberman didn't move, all she did was growl. Hiruma smirked and stated, "You just proved that you're not the dog's owner." The She-Devil was right; there was no way Isako's real owner would get her gender wrong. The officer immediately cuffed the man saying something along the lines of dognapping being a crime. Yukimitsu added that this crime is considered a grand theft crime because Purebred Dobermans are worth between ¥24,125 and ¥361,875 ($200 - $3,000). Yup, this guy was going to jail. And apparently the two guys that tried to dognap Isako earlier got caught by Cerberus, and now all the men were not going to bother Isako for a very long time.

~}i{~

Well, three dog-nappers were off the Street, but the Devilbats were no closer to finding Isako's owner. Sena wondered if that person was really worried about their missing dog. 'I mean this person didn't get her ears cropped or her tail docked, this person also feeds her chicken, rice, and salmon, and uses an amefuto ball to play with her…' The running-back thought as he walked home with Raimon and Mamori by his side, and had the Doberman on a leash.

Hiruma refused to take the Doberman home with her since she didn't want dog blood everywhere; no one was sure which dog she was talking about and they didn't want to know. Sena has a cat. Raimon and Komusubi had a parent that was allergic to dogs. Kurita's dad doesn't like dogs. The delinquent trio refused to get involved with the dog. Yukimitsu's apartment doesn't allow big dogs. So Mamori offered to house the dog until they found her owner since her parents loved dogs and her house was big enough, plus they stopped by a quick stop market and got Isako rice and chicken for her breakfast.

Maybe they should make some Found Flyers around the area to find the Doberman's owner.

Isako's ears perked up, she heard something. "What's wrong girl?" Mamori asked the dog. She, in turn, started wagging her tail and darted off, with Sena in tow. Raimon and Mamori raced after the two shouting at the Doberman to heel or stop. The big dog didn't stop; she kept on running, not noticing that she was pulling extra weight. Sena was doing really well with keeping up with Isako, which did surprise him. Perhaps maybe Hiruma wasn't just torturing Sena when she was forcing him to wear the weights during training, those weights really did help with his stamina and running speed. But his two friends weren't able to keep up and they ended up falling really behind the big dog and Sena.

"ISAKO." Sena heard someone calling, and it sounded close. Isako barked, rather loudly (Trust me those dogs have a loud deep bark). "Isako?" Now the voice sounded a lot closer, sounded feminine actually.

Sena tripped over a rock, lost his grip on the leash, and tumbled to the ground. When the running-back got into a sitting position, trying to ignoring the stinging all over his body, he saw what was best described as a very happy reunion. He couldn't help but forget the throbbing pain when he saw it.

Isako's tail was wagging so fast that it could go flying off in a blink of an eye and she was practically jumping on a person, whom Sena couldn't see at the moment because the big dog was blocking the bulk of his view, but he could hear her. The running-back could hear the person telling Isako that she was looking all over for her and was happy to have finally found her as she hugged the dog as the canine licked her owner's face happily. Now Sena could see the person. She looked like she was in her final year of high school, she was close to Hiruma's height (Roughly 168cm / 5ft 6in), she had purple hair that reached her elbows, she also had purple eyes, she was well tanned, and she was wearing a sky blue short-sleeved shirt, long khaki pants, and was wearing a pair of cobalt blue athletic shoes (1). The young lady finally noticed Sena when he said: "I guess you're her owner." She nodded as Isako licked her owner's check.

~}i{~

After about five minutes of searching, Raimon and Mamori were finally able to find Sena and Isako; they also saw that they were with a young lady with purple hair. They saw the young lady politely bowing to Sena and then walked away with the Doberman, who was happily wagging her tail. The two then started to walk over to Sena.

"Sena, who was that? And why is she leaving with Isako?" Mamori asked her childhood friend. Sena replied as he turned to his friends "Oh that was Kimiko, she's Isako's real owner." Raimon then asked Sena "Are you sure that was her owner?" considering the fact that someone did pretend to be the dog's owner earlier today. Sena smiled and said "Don't worry; she was Isako's real owner. You should have seen how happy they were when they saw each other, Isako was licking Kimiko's face and she didn't mind it at all, it was just pure happiness. Plus I asked some questions about Isako, you know, just in case." Raimon and Mamori glanced over towards the direction the young woman and her dog went, they managed to see her scratching the dog's ear, causing the dog to lick her hand. The two Deimon students now knew that she really was the dog's owner.

As the trio headed back home, a realizing hit Raimon like a ton of bricks. "Hey guys, I just thought of something," Raimon stated, getting Sena's and Mamori's attention. Raimon continued with a look that was a mixture of seriousness and confusion "Isako's owner is a girl, right." Sena nodded, not really sure where his friend was going with this. "So… Why was Isako so friendly with Hiruma?" Raimon asked with all seriousness. Mamori realized that the receiver was right and added: "Come to think of it, you're right Monta." Raimon then muttered that his name was Raimon.

It was a good thing that Sena wasn't facing his two friends because now he started to sweat bullets. 'Crap… Of course, Isako would be fine with Hiruma. Her owner's a girl and so is Hiruma. Oh, Kami, they're going to realize that Hiruma's not a boy,' Sena thought as he tugged at the helm of his sleeves. This was bad, no not bad, it was a DISASTER. The running-back was sure that the She-Devil was going to blame him for it and would… Sena gulped in fear, he didn't want to even think about it. "Maybe…" Mamori started with a serious tone. Sena could feel his heartbeat thundering in his chest. "Kimiko has a boyfriend who's the quarterback of an amefuto team," Mamori stated both seriously and happily. Sena was completely relieved by that statement, although he was a bit disappointed that Mamori came to that conclusion that quickly. Raimon folded his arms, was sporting a serious face, and said "Maybe, but I'ma not max sure about that. I think there's another reason why." Sena knew he was right, but there was no way he was going to say it, so he said "Ano, maybe we're overthinking it. I mean Isako could have liked Hiruma because she thought s..HE smelt nice or something." Mamori easily thought that might have been a possibility, but Raimon wasn't too sure.

~}i{~

Mamori told him that she would text the rest of the team to tell them that Isako was with her real owner, so the three went to their respective homes. Sena was happy that he found the Doberman's owner. He was also really happy that he found out that Hiruma wasn't just torturing him, she was also training his stamina and speed. The running-back had one of Hiruma's phone numbers, so he texted her telling her that he really appreciated her special secret training. Sena was really smiling when he sent the text; he figured that the She-Devil really did care for him, perhaps there was a small chance that maybe she loved him back (… Okaaaaay …. Anyone thinks that Sena's trying a little TOO hard to see the good in Hiruma?).

~}i{~

When Hiruma read that text, she cursed under her breath and said to no one in particular "How the hell did that f*ing chibi find out?" She closed her flip phone and looked out the window. 'Guess the chibi's smarter than I gave him credit for,' the She-Devil thought looking up at the night's sky. (Wait a minute… she actually WAS secretly training Sena without him knowing?...) A sinister grin appeared on the She- Devil's face as she thought 'I guess this means I don't have to hold back on the f*ing chibi's training.'

The smile faded from Hiruma's face as rubbed her lips with the second knuckle of her right index finger. The She-Devil couldn't figure out why the Club Shed Kiss was bothering her so much. It wasn't a bad or annoying bothering, it was a weird kind of bother that made Hiruma feel, well, strange. A kind of strange that actually made her feel happy and some other emotion that she couldn't pinpoint what it was. It made her heart beat faster, made her feel all warm and fuzzy in that fluttering heart, and it made her feel like she ate some kind of live flying insect and it wanted out. Hiruma could solve anything, but this kind of thing seemed impossible for her. At first, she thought it was hormonal, but she couldn't blame it on her period since she's been feeling that way long after her last period ended.

Hiruma didn't even notice that her face was flushing red. 'What the f*ing hell could this feeling be?' the She-Devil thought as she leaned back onto her bed. (… Okaaaaaaay….. No Comment).

~}i{~

The Next Morning.

The renovations were officially complete. The entire team was completely ecstatic with the accomplishment. The inside was as big as the outside. Everything was shiny new and everyone had their own locker for their team uniform, except for the delinquent trio, who had to share one (There was even a plaque with Huh Huh Brothers written above). The trio weren't the only ones that were unhappy with their predicament. Raimon was not happy that the name on the plaque above his locker was not his, it was Monta.

The receiver jumped up on a bench and shouted, while pointing at the plaque with his foot, "OI! THIS IS IT! I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO EVERYONE! STOP MAKING FUN OF ME BY CALLING ME "MONTA"…" That was when Hiruma stated nonchalantly "I got it from Joe Montana." That got Raimon's attention pretty quick. The devilish quarterback explained that Joe Montana was one of the greatest superstars in the NFL history, that he used his skills to manoeuvre his many dramatic comeback victories, and explained that that skill was called "Montana Magic". The monkey-like receiver could easily imagine hordes of fans cheering him on. With a goofy grin on his face, Raimon struck a pose and started to call him Monta (Guess I'll be calling him Monta too…). Both Kurita and Sena couldn't help but think that the She-Devil really is a class "A" manipulator.

Mamori walked into the new locker room with a smile on her face and said "Now that we have so much room… We can finally get everything in order." She didn't notice that she accidentally dropped a magazine, but Kurita and Komusubi noticed it. The gentle giant picked up the magazine, which was about Amefuto (No surprise there). He opened it and said "Oh. Amefuto Monthly… I haven't read this month's issue is yet." Kurita turned to an article featuring the planes for the magazine's 20th year anniversary, and boy were they doing something big for that. A high school Amefuto team from America; Houston, Texas to be more precise, was coming to Japan to play a high school team on June 6th. The magazine stated that there were too many applicants, so they were going to do a drawing lottery to see who will be playing against the Americans.

Mamori couldn't help but pipe in "But that's the week after next… Isn't that right in the middle of the Kanto Tournament? Will teams be able to play?" Kurita answered back "Anyone who's not playing in the Kanto Tournament." Monta nervously stated, "Someone who can't even make it to the finals would challenge the Americans?" Sena said that no one was that crazy.

"I already sent in our application," Hiruma stated very calmly as she was pulling on her school blazer (Remember, She's wearing the boy's uniform).

Everyone in the Amefuto lockers practically shouted: "ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

Now Sena reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally wanted to hide in a corner and cry. 'Of all the girls in this school… I HAD to fall for the Daughter of the Devil King of Hell… Life is most definitely cruel….' Thought the hidden running-back trying his best not to make a face that showed what he was thinking… Not like it was working or anything… Monta noticed that look. 'Is Sena hiding' something?' Wondered the receiver.

~}i{~

At the Amefuto Monthly's Editorial Department, the lottery drawing was underway. A man in his 30s with a huge Afro, bushy eyebrows, big rounded nose, was relatively heavyset, was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, and well-worn jeans had his hand, okay mostly has an arm, in a raffle box. This man was an Amefuto journalist by the name of Kumabukuro. He wasn't surprised that not a lot of applicants apply for this event, after all, there was a major tournament going on. Kumabukuro asked the editorial manager "How come we're doing this during the Kanto tournament anyway?" The Editor-in-Chief, an older man with a high forehead and round wire-rimmed glasses, stated almost in a bored tone "We had no choice. The American said it was the only time they could come." Kumabukuro pulled out one of the applicant's names from the raffle box; it was a BIG piece of paper. The Amefuto journalist was relatively impressed by the strategy used by the winning team. Kumabukuro finally stated out loud "That settles it – "The Deimon Devilbats" will be playing against the NASA Aliens. This will be an interesting match, since Deimons team's small and all." The editor-in-chief told Kumabukuro to forget about the raffle drawing. The Amefuto journalist asked why and the editor-in-chief explained that they already had a team picked out to face the Americans. The editor-in-chief told Kumabukuro "It be disgraced to have a puny team represent Japan? These guys looked like they could measure up against the Americans brawn. *Pulls out a magazine and shows the journalists a picture of the team that has been predetermined* This heavyweight team is known for their "Pyramid Line". The Taiyō Sphinx."

~}i{~

Back with the Deimon Devilbats in their new locker room the very same day. The team just got the email from the Amefuto Monthly magazine. Monta, Sena, and Kurita read the email.

The email read "Thank you for your application. Official lottery results, the Taiyō Sphinx will represent Japan in the competition."

Kurita had an odd mixture of tones when he said "Aww … That's too bad, but it's also kind of a relief…" It sounded like a mix of happiness and sadness that they weren't chosen. Hiruma, on the other hand, stated, with her evil cackle "That's what I thought. It's a little too perfect for that team to have picked." The She-Devil pulled out a cell phone, punched in a phone number, and when the other line picked up she stated in her manipulative cheery tone "Hello, Amefuto Monthly? Want an interview with the much talked about player, Eyeshield 21?" Kurita, Monta, and Sena knew exactly what that meant. 'Why, oh, why did I fall in love with HER?' Sena thought as tears streaked down his face. Monta saw those tears and wondered why his friend had them.

~}i{~

About 10 minutes later, at the Amefuro Monthly editorial department building. Now in his Eyeshield 21 persona, Sena was wondering how this all happened so suddenly. Oh right, Hiruma-chan. The running back mentally flinched, it was getting incredibly difficult for him to keep the She-Devil's secret, especially by the fact that he was in love with her. Sena sighed 'Life is very cruel.'

Speaking of the She-Devil, she called to give them instructions. Make an excuse to use the bathroom during the interview and then infiltrate the computer room. Sena wondered why on earth Hiruma would make it sound like it was so simple. Nevertheless, he did so. Easily avoiding all employees, including the one in the computer room.

Over the cell phones, Hiruma instructed Sena to type in something called "IPCONFIG"(2) and then type "NETSTATE"(2). "What language are you speaking?!" Sena whispered into the phone, he really didn't have any idea on what she was talking about. Now the She-Devil was annoyed, she told him that she was in a text him a step-by-step procedure to follow precisely. Sena looked at that list; he didn't understand half of what they were. Hiruma was going to kill him if he didn't do this right.

~}i[~

Kumabukuro wondered if Eyeshield 21 was sick or something, after all, he was taking a long time in the bathroom.

~}i{~

Okay, Sena managed to get into the computer's interface. Wasn't an easy thing for him; since he had never done this sort of thing before. The hacking part anyway. Next thing Sena knew, there was a whole series of computer text appeared on the screen. Since he didn't know what it meant or what to do, he snapped a picture with his cell phone and sent it to Hiruma. The She-Devil was impressed with the Chibi's idea.

Now Hiruma took over the Magazine's Computer room.

As Sena snuck out of the Computer room, he whispered into his phone that this was probably illegal, but the She-Devil assured him that Justice was on their side (A devil saying justice was on their side… anyone else finds this sentence odd?). Then Hiruma stated over the phone "Now, the preparation is complete! Let's seal the deal by sending an e-mail!" Sena had no idea what she meant, but he knew something was going to happen. He felt really sorry for the people at Amefuto Monthly.

~}i{~

9th Down: Scored

~}i{~

Omake Moment:

Sena couldn't believe his eyes! He never thought he sees the day this would happen! He never thought this would ever happen! Sena actually had to pinch himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He wasn't. He couldn't believe this was real.

Sena was backstage with Kurita, and had their eyes on the stage, more specifically the person on the stage.

Even though she was wearing a long black wig, wearing a long, beautiful, light blue, tight, sleeveless dress that didn't hide her figure, had black eyeliner crafted around her eyes, and pink lipstick carefully painted on her lips. Both Kurita and Sena easily recognized that young woman on stage as Hiruma Yoichi. Both had the same flabbergasted look on their face. Neither teen had ever seen the She-Devil in any type of skirt or dress before…. Wait a minute…. Why was she in that getup and on stage anyway?

}{ 15 minutes ago }{

Sena was going to one of Mamori's friend's high school music festival with 99% of the Deimon Devilbats (Hiruma wasn't with them). The team was going to enjoy this, especially since Hiruma gave them the day off. Okay, yeah, everyone thought it was strange, but they didn't care at the moment. They had one whole day of no practice or helping out with the construction; they were going to completely enjoy it. It was very lively at the festival, oh yes; the team was going to enjoy it.

Kurita and Sena were in utter bliss until they spotted a certain someone wearing a long black wig, a pink sleeveless shirt with a big red heart on the front, and light blue skinny jeans. 'What's Hiruma doing here and what is she wearing?!' both Sena and Kurita thought when they saw her. So, the two snuck away from their group to confront the She-Devil.

Turns out Hiruma was getting more info for her "Little Black Book". That didn't surprise the two. What surprised Kurita and Sena were what the She-Devil was wearing. Her explanation was "I'm disguised as a girl so no one would recognize me while I collect some data." Neither of the Devilbat players knew what to say.

"There you are Koki!" Said a voice that belonged to one of the female students that attends the high school that the Devilbats were currently at. The three Devilbats looked around for this "Koki". The female student grabbed a hold of Hiruma's wrist and stated "Koki stop flirting. Our class is up next and you were supposed to be getting ready." Then she walked off with Hiruma, telling the teen that she wasn't Koki, in tow. Sena and Kurita had a look on their faces that stated Oh-My-God-This-Is-Positively-Horrible. Both Devilbats raced after them.

}{ Present Time }{

Kurita and Sena couldn't stop the high school class from prettying up Hiruma, who was looking really appealing in that tight blue dress, or stopping them from pulling her onto the stage, with a microphone headset, with the class band, in front of over A HUNDRED PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE REST OF THE DEVILBATS! This was not good, not good at all, and Kurita and Sena knew it.

A violin started playing than a piano started. The two Devilbats that were behind the curtain were starting to panic. How could the She-Devil be so calm?

Hiruma took a deep breath and started singing. Whatever things that Sena and Kurita were feeling at the moment, they were completely gone at this point.

"Every night in my dreams

I see you, I feel you

That is how I know you go on"

Hiruma's… Singing… Was… Actually… Really… Beautiful… "I didn't know she could sing…" Sena whispered to Kurita. And the gentle giant replied, "Neither did I…"

"Far across the distance

And spaces between us

You have come to show you go on"

Every single person in the entire audience was completely entranced by the singer. Including a giant, with a long flowing dark mane, that was leaning against a sturdy made food tent, who was with two of his friends. Both of the giant's friends were a lot shorter than he was, but the two were close to each other's height. One of them had shoulder-length blond hair and the other had short spiky brown hair. The brunette said to her friends "She's certainly has a good voice, I'd say." The blond teen said, "It would be more beautiful if she had more muscle on her." The brunette looked at him with a funny look that said of-coarse-you'd-say-that. The giant just chuckled.

"Near, far, wherever you are

I believe that the heart does go on

Once more you open the door

And you're here in my heart

And my heart will go on and on"

Mamori couldn't help but think that she was listening to an angle. 'If only Sena could find a girl like that,' she thought. Monta was imagining the singer being Mamori.

"Love can touch us one time

And last for a lifetime

And never let go till we're gone"

Sena couldn't help but wonder how the She-Devil could sing like an angel.

"Love was when I loved you

One true time I hold to

In my life, we'll always go on"

At this point the real Koki was backstage. "Wait… If Koki's here… Then who's on stage?" asked the class president to the class that was backstage with him. His classmates shrugged in confusion.

"Near, far, wherever you are

I believe that the heart does go on

Once more you open the door

And you're here in my heart

And my heart will go on and on

You're here, there's nothing I fear

And I know that my heart will go on"

Shin of the White Knights just so happened to be jogging by when he heard Hiruma's singing, He actually stopped to listen. He was too far away from the stage to see who was singing, but then again he didn't really care who was singing, he was just fine listening to the voice. For some reason, an image of Takami-chan appeared in his head, which made Shin think 'Perhaps… This voice is telling me to work harder for her affection even if I don't know how.' After a second or so, Shin concluded that that was the case and continued his jogging. (Bit of a simple-minded answer, but hey, to each their own, right? Besides, it's good to be motivated).

"We'll stay forever this way

You are safe in my heart

And my heart will go on and on."

The audience erupted in applause. As soon as the curtains closed, Hiruma raced off as fast as she could, Kurita and Sena followed her.

}{ 5 Minutes later }{

After the three managed to ditch that class group, the three decided to use an abandoned tent so Hiruma could get out of that dress and made sure that Sena and Kurita were guarding the tent flap. The two knew that if they didn't stand guard or peek inside, the She-Devil would kill them on the spot.

Mamori spotted her two friends and called out to them. They waved to her but didn't move. Mamori did ask why they were standing there and the two replied that they were admiring the festival, adding that it was well put together. They didn't want their friend to be on the receiving end of the She-Devil or find out that Hiruma is a girl. She easily believed that and told them to enjoy themselves before leaving. Both were relieved.

When Hiruma exited the tent, she was wearing a new blue short-sleeved shirt, green cargo pants, no makeup, and was still wearing that long black wing. Sena was the one courageous enough to say "Ano, you have a really nice singing voice." The She-Devil glared at the two and said in a threatening tone "Do Not EVER Bring That Up." Kurita and Sena vigorously nodded. Hiruma left the campus.

"Hard to believe she sings like an angel," Kurita whispered quietly to Sena, who in turn replied, "Hiruma an angle…." After a minute or so of silence, the two agreed to never speak of Hiruma's singing ever again. After all, it was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelay weird having the words "Hiruma" and "Angle" in the same sentence without the word "isn't" between the two.

'That singing is certainly not helping me with my affections for her, that's for sure,' Sena thought before him and Kurita went back to the festival.

}{

By the next day, everything was back to training and construction for the Devilbats. But during their class time, the only thing that the other students were talking about was that mysterious singer with the voice of an angle from yesterday's music festival. Both Sena and Kurita couldn't help but cringe at that.

~}i{~

Omake Moment: End

~}i{~

(1): Yup, that was Harao Kimiko of the Taiyō Sphinx.

(2): Due to the fact that I took an IT class, I actually know what these two words mean. They're both Command Prompt commands. IPGONFIG is a Microsoft Windows console application that displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values and can modify Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (or a DHCP) and Domain Name System (or a DNS) settings. And NETSTATE is a command-line tool that displays network connections for the Transmission Control Protocol (both incoming and outgoing), routing tables, and a number of network interface (network interface controller or software-defined network interface) and network protocol statistics. These are basically tools to figure out the basic setup of a computer, or in Hiruma's case, a way to hack a computer.

~}i{~

Gale-Dragon: I know that this Omake Moment isn't like the other Omake moments, but this was on my brain for a while. Anywho, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Chapter 10 will be the DevilBats vs the Sphinx. That should be fun.


	10. 10th Down: The Taiyō Sphinx

~}i{~

"Talking"

'Thinking'

(Author making a comment)

*Actions within Speech*

~}i{~

10th Down: The Taiyō Sphinx

~}i{~

The Next Day. Hiruma and Kurita walked into the Amefuto Monthly building. Kurita was looking as nervous as hell, while Hiruma was looking rather chipper (or as chipper as a devil could be anyway).

With the surprised-looking editor-in-chief right in front of them, the She-Devil pulled out one of her many cell phones, showing the editor-in-chief the message on it, and stated happily "Here's the email! It says that Deimon has been selected to participate. The Americans have even been notified by phone."

The head of the computer division in the building did confirm that Hiruma was telling the truth (At least he thought the computers were telling the truth…), a message was sent to the Americans. The editor-in-chief was furious.

Nearby, ok, they were actually sitting across the room, were three representatives from the Taiyō Sphinx amefuto team (They're wearing their school's uniform, btw). One of the representatives was a good head and a half taller than Kurita, but was more muscled, completely bald, tanned, coal-black eyes, and had a stern look on his face. The second wasn't as tall as the first and he seemed more wide-set, somewhat like Kurita, he had a watermelon-shaped head, black eyes, and had his black hair in bowl cut trim. The last one, and the shortest of the three was around Hiruma's height, with elbow long purple hair, and purple eyes. The tallest was Banba Mamoru, the rounded one was Kasamatsu Niinobu, and the girl was Harao Kimiko. All three heard what was said. Harao asked the Editor-in-Chief what was going on. The man with the high forehead told her that there was a bit of a "Technical Difficulty", so to speak. Harao got annoyed and stated "YOU were the one who told us to come today because EVERYTHING would be working PROPERLY. We even cancelled today's training for this arrangement." The Editor-in-Chief quickly apologized.

Hiruma cackled and stated in a taunting tone "The arrangement's changed. Deimon will be the ones who will face the Americans. So you guys can run home to your Mummies." Kurita had a look on his face that said Hiruma-!-What-Are-You-Doing-!-Stop-This-Immediately-!-You're-Going-To-Get-Us-In-Major-Trouble-! Kasamatsu got pissed and practically shouted, "THERE'S NO WAY A PUNY TEAM LIKE DEIMON CAN WIN!" Harao folded her arms and stated that it would be the shame of Japan. 'Hook-line and Sinker,' The She-Devil thought as she said: "Well then, do you mean to say that you're better than we are?" Kasamatsu quickly replied "NATURALLY!"

With a sinister grin on her face, Hiruma said "Why don't we see about that? Let's play a game to determine who will represent Japan!" Kurita really wanted to cry at the moment.

~}i{~

Meanwhile, back at Deimon High.

While Hiruma and Kurita were at the Amefuto Monthly; Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō were the only Devilbats who were NOT practising amefuto. In fact, they weren't even on the practice field. Mamori wondered out loud where they were. Yukimitsu stated that when Hiruma's gone, they slack off. Komusubi couldn't help but remember what Kurita said the night before, about all five of the linemen working together to become a powerful line.

In the Amefuto locker room.

Sena just finished getting in his Eyeshield 21 persona. The running-back wondered what Hiruma was planning. That was when he heard someone coming. Not good, not good, not good. Sena quickly hid under a nearby table, out of view from the door. When the door slid open, Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō walked in. 'What are they doing here?' Sena wondered as he remained perfectly still. Sena heard Jūmonji say "Those two meddlesome guys are at the magazine office. Now is our only chance to look at those photos." As the delinquent trio looked through the locker room, Kuroki wondered out loud if the negatives are even here. Toganō found some of the posters of them naked.

'Photos? Oh! So that's what she was using to blackmail them!' Sena thought as he watched their feet scuttled by. Somehow, this didn't surprise the running back.

Komusubi burst into the locker room, toppling Toganō over with a tackle bag. The pint-sized powerhouse pounded his fist against the bag and shouted "PR-PRACTICE!" That was when a fight broke out between the delinquent trio and the pint-sized powerhouse. It was pretty much a one-sided fight, Komusubi was winning. Sena knew he had to do something, but there were three of them. Jūmonji grabbed a metal bat while Kuroki and Toganō held down Komusubi. The blonde positioned himself, ready to swing the bat, but then toss the batting side, which nearly hitting Sena in the head, and walked out of the locker room. The other two delinquents followed, wondering what was wrong.

Mamori spotted the three leaving and asked them where they were going. Jūmonji told the honour student "We quit. What's the point of training? We never really wanted to play anyway!" Kuroki exclaimed, "WHAT ABOUT THE PHOTOS?!" Jūmonji stated, "Who cares?" Toganō asked what he meant. That was when Mamori said "Well, if you change your minds… Come back anytime. We'll be waiting for you. Especially Kurita…" With that, the delinquent trio left, without so much as a second glance.

~}i{~

About 30 Minutes Later.

Hiruma just told the team that they were going to play to represent Japan. 'She's done it again…' Sena thought as he watched the She-Devil dump a bunch of models of the opposing team, all of whom were massive, literally twice the size of the Devilbat models. This was not making Sena feel any better about this match. As he held three of the huge models and commented that they were as big as Ootawara. Hiruma held the delinquent trio's figure models in-between her fingers and said: "We've got to make the most of our line with teamwork!" Those figures were mice to the elephants of the Sphinx models. 'Those three are going to be dead meat...' Sena couldn't help but think.

~}i{~

** About 10-12 minutes after Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō left the school's ground. **

The three Sphinx representatives were sitting in a nice little café and they were turning heads and scaring some of the staff since the three were muuuuuuuuuuuuch taller (and bigger, in the case of the two boys) than the average teenager. "Honestly Kasamatsu, how could you fall for such a ploy so easily?" Harao asked sternly to her teammate, whom in turn apologized. Harao folded her arms, closed her eyes, and stated: "No matter, that match will be a mere warm-up before we go against the Americans." The waitress brought them their drinks. Banba was about to thank her, but she scampered away in fear before he could. "By the way, why did you choose this place to eat?" Harao asked her teammate. "S-sorry… There was nothing else around," Kasamatsu stated nervously. Banba raised a brow and said "Really? I believe I saw two or three other places on our way here." The rounded member of the Sphinx was now sweating bullets. Harao sipped her tea and asked her rounder teammate "Care to explain Kasamatsu?"

With bullets of sweat raced down the rounded teen's brow, he finally admitted "I, ano, heard that this place was popular with couples… So I figured, that, ano, well… You two ARE a couple…" That was when Banba and Harao looked around the café and indeed saw that the majority of the customers were indeed paired up. Glaring at her teammate, Harao said in an annoyed tone "I believe we told you and the rest of the team that WE will go at our own pace." Kasamatsu rubbed the back of his head. Next thing the rounded Sphinx knew, Banba stomped on his foot rather hard. "Thank you, Mamoru," Harao said politely before sipping her tea.

Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō walked into the café. The three saw the Sphinx players but didn't know that they were the team that they would be playing. Kuroki commented that they were huge.

"Assemblyman Habashira has close ties with my father's company. His son's team played Diemon the other day…" Harao said trying to put the conversation back on their opposing team. 'Habashira? As in Habashira Rui? The Captain of the Chameleons?' the delinquent trio thought at the same time. Harao continued "And he said that lineman numbers 51, 52, and 53 are just scrubs."

'SAY WHA-?!' The delinquent trio thought in unison.

Kasamatsu laughed as he said "As long as those douche bags don't quit, will have an-" Jūmonji grabbed a hold of the rounded Sphinx's shoulder and said "I'm number 51. Which one of you called me a douche bag?"

Before a fight could ensue, Harao told Banba, as she put her tea on the table "Mamoru, take a minute to clean this guy up." Banba answered by saying "One minute is too long."

(When happens next is identical to the manga)

~}i{~

Back with the Devilbat's training.

"It's been a long time since we recorded the bench presses," Mamori said looking at a clipboard. Sena commented that bench pressing was his worst, but Monta told his friend "Yeah but, you did carry all those steel beams?" Sena got ready to bench press. He told his friend not to put much weight since his record was 10 kg (22 lbs), so Monta put 20 kg on the barbell. Sena was able to lift the barbell, pretty easily, which surprised Sena himself. The hidden running-back was glad that he was able to lift 20 kg, but Monta suddenly said "That wasn't 20 kg. Actually, I put 40 kg on there for you." Both Mamori and Sena were ecstatic about that. Sena just lifts four times his previous record, and easily no less. 'Little by little… It's as if the lies are coming true… I AM getting stronger! Just for Her!' Sena happily thought as he clenched his fist.

Kobayakawa Sena's New Bench Press Record: 40 kg (88 lbs).

Not even a minute later, the delinquent trio appeared in the gym completely battered and exhausted. Mamori immediately asked how the three got their bruises, but Kurita cut in by saying that they came at a perfect time and told them to get ready for bench pressing. The three did so, and with the image of the two Sphinx linemen in their heads, the three were able to break their old record of 65 kg (143 lbs).

The Huh Huh Brothers' New Bench Press Record: 85 kg (187 lbs).

Kuroki and Toganō were amazed that they improve their numbers with special training. Jūmonji suddenly said in a serious tone "Kurita… Teach us… What do we have to do to dominate the line? I don't want to keep losing all the time!"

Kurita was as happy as a kid in a candy store.

~}I{~

The very next day in Minami Kanagawa was a complete scorcher. It had to be at least 40°C (104°F). The entire Devilbats teams, minus Hiruma, were sweating bullets. Monta commented that there were cicadas in June. Halfway towards fainting, Sena said "It's so hot… If only we didn't have to play on a day like today…"

~}I{~

Taiyō Prefectural High School, a.k.a. Desert Field.

The Devilbats built an observation tower on their side of the field for the "Secretary" to achieve a perfect height to record the game. Mamori already believed that Sena was on top of the tower and was completely unaware that he was already in his Eyeshield 21 persona.

But what Mamori DID notice was that one of the players on the Taiyō Sphinx was a girl. "Huh? Why is she wearing an amefuto uniform?" Mamori asked pointing towards the violet haired player. Yukimitsu pulled out a study notebook, flipped through a couple of pages until he found what he was looking for, and said out loud for the team to hear "She's the quarterback of the Taiyō Sphinx, Harao Kimiko. She's one of the five Harpies of the League." Monta quickly asked what Yukimitsu meant by the term harpy. "Oh, in mythology, Harpies are known to be fierce birdlike, female warrior creatures. So it makes sense to call the female players in amefuto Harpies since it is the tough sport and all," Kurita explained happily. With a worried look on her face, Mamori asked "But, Amefuto is such a dangerous sport and she's a lot smaller than the rest of her team… Isn't she worried that she's going to get hurt?" Hiruma scoffed at the question and stated towards Mamori "Oh, please, she knows the dangers of the sport and still plays it. Do you honestly think she shares the same pathetic mentality as you if she plays amefuto?" Mamori took that insult pretty badly and said "HIRUMA, YOU JERK! HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL AND MEAN?! The She-Devil scoffed again and said seriously "This time I'm not being cruel, I'm being real. Anyone who plays amefuto knows the risks that come with the game, girls included. So either she's *points at Harao, who was tying her hair back in a low ponytail, minus the strands in front of her ears* come to terms with the risks or she loves the game too much to quit. Something someone like YOU will never understand, no matter how much you read or study about Amefuto." The rest of the Devilbats were silent. Apparently SOMETHING it a nerve with Hiruma, but only Kurita and Sena KNEW why.

'Hiruma-chan…..' was all Sena could think.

~}i{~

The editor-in-chief of Amefuto Monthly commented "There are plenty of people here. Even though we just listed the game on our website." Kumabukuro said as he pulled out his notepad "Yeah, but people are interested in this game. The hero from Notre Dame, Eyeshield 21, will be facing Japan's most heavyweight line!"

~}i{~

Kurita was shaking so badly you can feel the earth tremble along with him. Mamori noticed this and asked him why he was so nervous. Kurita explained in a shaky voice "You know, the Taiyō Sphinx… Everyone knows about their linemen… They've got the fiercest line. Especially… *Indicating towards the tall, tanned, currently shirtless, muscular, teen, who was bandaging his shoulders* That third-year, Banba-san!"

~}i{~

Banba told his fellow Linemen "Tape yourselves up like a mummy. Stability of the joints will create power." The entire lineman line answered back "YES SIR!" Banba felt a cold bottle of water pressed against his arm, he turned to see that it was Harao, she was also holding a box full of cold bottled water in one arm. She smiled at him and said "This may be a warm-up game, but make sure you boys stay hydrated *shakes the water bottle from side to side*. It's warmer than usual today." Banba accepted the bottled water from Harao and the rest of the team took one bottle each from the box. Harao quickly pecked Banba's cheek and said with a small smile "Don't push yourself too much, Mamoru." The main Lineman smiled back. Kasamatsu suddenly said in a cheeky tone, completely ruining the moment, "Do we get a kiss too?" Harao threw the empty box at the rounded lineman, hitting him in the head. The rest of the line sighed at that.

~}i{~

Kumabukuro looked at his book of players and said "Banba Mamoru. He holds the high school record for the squats." Sena overheard this and asked Kurita what squats were. Kurita explained that it was another weight lifting exercise. 'So there are different types of weight exercises…' Sena thought looking at the opposing team.

~}i{~

Sphinx's side of the field.

Harao folded her arms and said to Banba "Why don't you demonstrate your line's advantage? Crush Deimon's fighting spirit within 10 plays." Banba stood up and said "10 plays are too many. One play will be enough." Harao smiled and said as she put her helmet on "Not even that much of a challenge, huh."

~}i{~

The game between the Taiyō Sphinx and the Deimon Devilbats has begun, with the Sphinx starting off. The Devilbats could feel the pressure from the opposing team as if it were the real thing. It was very unnerving.

When the ball was handed off to Harao, the Devilbat Line was completely powerless. The Sphinx's QB efficiently threw the ball to the Sphinx's running back, who was running towards the goal line. Eyeshield 21 caught up to him easily. 'Hiruma-chan told me to tackle him…. But can I really do it?' Sena thought, then he remembered him easily lifting the barbell with the increased weight.

Eyeshield 21 tackled the Sphinx's running-back to the ground.

The entire audience was utterly flabbergasted by that scene. The Sphinx's running-back was so far ahead of Eyeshield 21! Yet the lightning running-back caught up to him in no time at all.

'Wow… I actually did it!' Sena thought happily.

~}i{~

As the game continued, it was painfully obvious that the Sphinx's Pyramid Line was incredibly strong. Kurita was losing his nerve.

Kurita apologized to the delinquent trio and Komusubi for thinking that they could go up against the Taiyō's Line. That was when Hiruma but in by saying " "People always laugh at the underdog." Those are the words of a great and wildly successful athlete… Who ignored the ridicule of those around him and challenge the Americans." Kurita asked if it was Hideo Nomo. Hiruma said it was Eyeshield 21. Monta asked Sena if he really said something that cool, but Sena was vigorously shaking his head no. 'It HAD to be her… I had to be in love with her…' Sena thought. The She-Devil pointed at the Devilbats Linemen and said " "It was crazy to challenge Taiyō"? What about three months from now? We're gonna be every team in the Kanto area, including Taiyō!" That was when it came to Kurita that his friend was right. Sena couldn't help but think 'She's really good with motivating the team.'

~}i{~

The game continued, and so far no one has scored. The Devilbat Line still wasn't doing well, but they were doing better than before.

The delinquent trio were lying on their backs, looking up at the sky. They were just "Blue Skied" again by the opposing team. This time, Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō didn't mind so much. Now the three were focusing on getting back at Kasamatsu.

~}i{~

Taiyō scored the first point of the game. But Harao had to throw the ball early because she noticed a slight shift in the line, and she wasn't the only one. Banba noticed that he was pushed back a couple of centimetres. 'Interesting,' The two thought at the same time.

~}i{~

"We can turn this game around and make'm swallow those words of their," Monta said with a grin. Sena nodded with a grin.

"Oi, F*ing Baldie, F*ing Harpy!" Hiruma called to Banba and Harao. Both Sena and Monta one utter shock, how could she talk to the opposing team like that so casually?

"This is the 10th play. That's strange… I don't see anyone who lost their fighting spirit," Hiruma stated with an evil grin on her face. The entire Devilbats team had a fierce look on their face.

"So you overheard that, huh?" Harao said just as casually. Banba just glared at the Devilbat quarterback.

~}i{~

The Chameleons arrived on their motorcycles. By this time the Sphinx was leading 7-0. Rui was not happy with the scores at all.

~}i{~

Devilbats's offence, 80 yards to the goal line.

Both teams made the formations. Banba stood in front of Kurita in the line. "I'm sorry… I thought we could overpower the likes of your line with brute strength," Banba suddenly said, catching Kurita's attention. Banba continued by saying in a serious tone "You said your name was Kurita, right? *Kurita nods* I'll admit you have some skill, so I'll have to go at you with my full arsenal of techniques."

Hiruma had the ball.

The centre of the Sphinx's Pyramid Line ploughed through Kurita as if he didn't weigh a thing and sacked the Devilbat quarterback! 'Banba-san's not just powerful… He strong AND skilful!' Kurita thought when he realized what happened.

Hiruma kept the ball anchored to her chest as she went down, not letting it go. Meaning that it was still the Devilbats' ball. Banba noticed this and thought 'He never let go of the ball, even if it meant being sacked…' the Sphinx's centre cast a glance at his girlfriend, who was sitting on the sideline because it was the Devilbats' offence (Quick note, QBs are usually on the sidelines for the defence. The only reason why Hiruma plays during the Devilbats' defensive plays is that there aren't enough players on the team), nodded in return. She saw it too.

~}i{~

Still Devilbats's offence, 85 yards to the goal line.

Hiruma faked a pass to Eyeshield 21. Monta ran through a hole in the line and used the Slant manoeuvre to get into position. 'THEIR BACK!' Banba thought when he realized what the Devilbats were doing. 'THEIR! BETTER!' Harao thought as she saw Hiruma moved effortlessly away from Kasamatsu before he could sack her. 'That Quarterback is better….' The Sphinx's QB thought as Monta caught the pass.

But the monkey dropped the ball due to being tackled. Some of the Sphinx players dogpiled on the ball.

"Taiyō's Ball!" the ref shouted, blowing his whistle.

~}i{~

Hiruma was currently "scolding" Monta. And she was making sure the monkey knows if he ever drops the ball again, he's going to be "really sorry".

~}i{~

Harao bit her lip. Banba placed a hand on her shoulder and said "Kimiko, don't worry. Show them that you are indeed a true quarterback." Harao smiled and said, "You needn't have to tell me twice."

~}i{~

The Sphinx was only able to advance two yards. Kurita was able to push back Banba a couple of centimetres.

~}i{~

Hiruma smirked as she said, "All right, I think the f*ing fatass has made an impression." Sena knew that was a good thing, Hiruma was happy. But he really wished that he was the one to make her happy.

"Oi, f*ing brothers," Hiruma stated towards the delinquent trio, whom in turn stated back that they were not brothers, and added with a sinister grin "Now's your chance… use Delinquent Deathblow"!"

~}i{~

Kumabukuro spotted Rui and asked if he was Habashira of the Zokugaku Chameleons. That was when the afro man noticed that the sleeves (close to the shoulders) on all of the Chameleons were torn, so he asked what happened. Rui simply stated that they were souvenirs from training with Deimon. The reporter blinked in confusion.

~}i{~

Sphinx's Ball, 21 yards to the goal line.

The Pyramid Line held.

The editor-in-chief stated to no one in particular that the Sphinx's Line was invincible.

Kasamatsu charged at Jūmonji telling him that he'll show him the real difference between then them. 'You're stronger than us, I'll give you that. But…' Jūmonji thought as he grabbed ahold of Kasamatsu's sleeve and shouted "I DON'T….. I DON'T WANT TO KEEP LOSING ALL THE TIME!" The delinquent threw Kasamatsu down. Causing the Pyramid LIne to crumble.

Jūmonji now ran right towards Harao. Hiruma told him if he didn't treat the Sphinx's QB with the same enthusiasm as the other Sphinx, then he'll be sorry (AKA, Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō didn't really want to tackle her, but Hiruma said "Tackle her or you'll be Cerberus' new chew toy"). Harao took a step back before she was tackled. As the two tumbled to the ground, Harao somehow managed to throw the ball to the Sphinx running-back. Before he could catch the ball, Eyeshield 21 jumped in mid-air and grabbed the ball. This shocked the entire audience. Sena raced towards the goal line.

The Sphinx's linemen tried to block Sena, but Kurita, Kuroki, and Toganō blocked them, allowing Sena to squeeze through the gap. As he continued towards his goal (Pun intended, everyone ^_^), Sena noticed that Yukimitsu and Mamori were trying to tell him something, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. Not even a second later, a foreboding shadow covered the sun. Banba broke through the line that was him and was charging towards Sena!

'CRAP! This isn't good! There's no room to go around!' Sena thought as he continued to run. Hiruma shouted at him to not let go of the ball, even if he dies. Kurita shouted at Sena to run out of bounds. But, Sena saw an opening, a very small opening between Banba and the other linemen. 'Should I go out of bounds or go through that small opening?' Sena thought as everything seemed to slow down. His teammates on the sidelines were shouting at him to go out of bounds.

But…

Eyeshield 21 ran right towards the tiny opening.

"WHAT'S HE DOING?!" Monta shouted. Banba was going to snap him like a twig.

Eyeshield 21 somehow managed to squeeze through the opening and was almost passed the linemen. Suddenly, Banba stopped the running-back in his tracks and threw him to the ground in the snap of a finger. As he lay on the ground, Sena thought 'No good… I'm no match for his strength.' Banba stared at the fallen running-back as he thought 'Him too. He didn't let go of the ball.' As Sena got up, he noticed Hiruma's legs as she said "Instead of running out of bounds… *Flashes an evil grin* You earned us an extra yard! Not bad Eyeshield." Sena smiled at that. She praised him, Hiruma praised him. That was what Sena wanted.

Deimon Devilbats, 59 yards to the goal line.

~}i{~

The entire audiences of Taiyō students were booing the Devilbats, not for defeating the Pyramid Line, but for tackling Harao, the school's "Cleopatra". Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō knew what they were getting into and they reeeeeeeeeeeeeealy didn't want to do it, but the fear of Hiruma was faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar worse.

"SILENCE!" someone from the field shouted. The delinquent trio's eyes immediately darted towards the person who shouted. It was Harao Kimiko who shouted. "TACKLING IS MERELY APART OF THE GAME OF AMEFUTO! IF YOU WISH NOT TO SEE SUCH A THING! YOU CAN SIMPLY LEAVE!" the Sphinx's quarterback shouted, anger filled her eyes. That scared Jūmonji, Kuroki, and Toganō almost as much as Hiruma. Almost. Harao folded her arms and added "And on that note…. CEASE CALLING ME CLEOPATRA!" Now that scared the trio and anyone else who were nearby, out of their skin.

"Wait…. You're more upset about being called Cleopatra then being tackled?" Kuroki asked the purple-haired girl. She in turned scoffed and said, "Indeed, that title is such an annoyance and I never even put my name in the ballot to run for it." Toganō quickly stated "Sooooo…. You're not mad that you were tackled?" Harao blinked at the trio as if they were idiots or something and said "Why? As I said, it's a part of the game. Though, it has been quite a while since I was last tackled." Then she walked away. The trio looked at one another, none of them knew what to think.

~}i{~

As the game progressed, the Devilbats kept the Sphinx on their toes by changing their linemen's positions. It was a very interesting game.

~}i{~

It was the end of the first half, so it was half-time. The score was 13-12, in favour of the Sphinx. The Devilbats learned that every student in Taiyō was tanned because they all surfed at Shonan Beach, which was literally right next to the school. Monta told Mamori that he was going to make up for losing the ball in the first half and restore his disgrace with a super-catchy to the max. Mamori wished him luck. Hiruma immediately stated in her calm tone, as she took a water bottle, "I don't think he wants to have his "disgrace" restored. Doesn't he mean "Clear his name" or "Restore his honour"?" Now Monta was in despair. Mamori tried to shush the Devilbat captain, but it didn't work. 'Honestly, why does he have to be sooooo cruel?' Mamori thought.

~}i{~

All of the Taiyō Sphinx were drinking water from cups. These Devilbats were stronger than they originally thought. At the moment, none of the players wasn't wearing their helmets. Banba noticed that his girlfriend was looking around for something, so he asked her "Something wrong Kimiko?"

~}i{~

A figure moved closer to Hiruma, who was facing away from the figure. The She-Devil had her precious AK-47 in one hand and drinking from a cup of water on the other hand. The figure was right behind her. Hiruma felt SOMETHING touch her rear. Who the hell was gutsy enough to touch HER rear?! (Someone with a death wish or something….). With her AK-47 cocked and ready, the She-Devil turned to shoot off the head of the person who touched her butt, but she didn't see anyone. At least until she looked down.

~}i{~

Sena quickly, and secretly, switches into his secretary persona to show Mamori what "he recorded". The honour student was none the wiser.

"Oi, F*ing Chibi!" He heard Hiruma call out. Sena immediately thought he was in trouble of some kind when he answered nervously with a yes. "Didn't you get rid of that Doberman dog?" Hiruma asked walking up to him. Sena replied "Yes, I found her real owner. Why?" Hiruma pointed down. Mamori, Sena, and Monta followed the She-Devil's finger to the dog, wearing an Egyptian headdress and a golden Egyptian collar, sitting right next to her, the same Doberman that they found a few days ago. "Isako?" Sena asked and the dog barked. Yup, it was the same dog. But why was she wearing that get-up?

Isako suddenly jumped on Sena, knocking him to the ground, and started licking his face. Her tail was wagging like crazy, so she must have been really happy to see Sena. "Down, Isako," Sena laughed out, trying to get the big dog off him.

"There you are, Isako," Said Harao, with her hands on her hips. Isako's tongue was hanging out of her mouth as her tail wagged as Sena somehow pushed the dog off him. "Huh?" Sena and Harao stared at each other for a minute, then both said at the same time "It's you!" Harao folded her arms and said with a small smile "Funny running into you here?" Sena rubbed the back of his head and said: "I know right."

"Wait? You're Isako's owner?" Monta asked the Sphinx's QB. Now that the Devilbat receiver thought about it, she DID look like the person he saw a few days ago walking off with the dog. Harao nodded yes and said, "And before you ask, Isako's wearing that outfit because she's our school's unofficial mascot." Oh, so that's why. Mamori then asked, "So, you have special permission to have her on school grounds?" Harao nodded again as Isako barked happily. 'She's defiantly different from a certain person,' Mamori thought with a clear picture of the Devil in her mind (Remember, she doesn't know Hiruma's a girl).

Next thing everyone knew, Hiruma was coaxing Isako away from the group with a slice of meat that she somehow got out of nowhere. "Hey, you leave my baby girl alone, you sneak," Harao shouted at the She-Devil. "Me? I was- Wait? Baby girl?" Hiruma started in her manipulative voice, before dropping it as soon as she realized what Harao was calling her dog. Isako snatched the meat out of the She-Devil's hand. The Sphinx's QB shrugged and said with a bit of pink on her cheeks "She was the runt of the litter, okay. Mother wasn't going to use her in any dog shows, so… I kept her, alright." "That explains a lot," Hiruma stated recovering from the small shock. Isako just sat next to the She-Devil.

"Hold on…" Mamori suddenly said, looking back and forth between Hiruma and Harao as if she realized something super important. "If you're Isako's owner *points to Harao* and she likes Hiruma *points to the She-Devil*... Then that means…." Mamori said very seriously. Sena and Kurita were sweating bullets. Did Mamori finally realize that Hiruma wasn't a boy? "Isako must love Quarterbacks," Mamori said happily. (….. I can safely say that Sena and Kurita don't have to worry about Mamori ever finding out about the "She"-Devil…).

"Not necessarily," Harao said walking up to Hiruma. She picked up the end of the leash that was attached to the collar Isako was wearing. Sena realized that he didn't even notice that the leash was there. "You wouldn't happen to use Hikari to Kireina Lavender Vanilla Body Soap (1)?" Harao asked the She-Devil, who replied: "Yeah, why?" That's when it hit her and she said loudly "You're f*ing kidding? That's why she f*ing likes me? Because I smell f*ing nice!?" Harao frowned and said, "You needn't use such language." Sena made a mental note to find out where the She-Devil gets that soap.

Isako saw a pretty little butterfly fluttering by, so she decided to go after it. The butterfly fluttered around Hiruma and Harao very quickly, so Isako did the same. "ISAKO!" Everyone shouted.

Next thing the two quarterbacks knew, they were tied together at the knees! They lost their balance and fell to the ground, with Harao landing on top of Hiruma. Sena was the first to rush over to help the two QBs. They were okay, a bit humiliated, but okay. "Just untie us F*ing Chibi!" Hiruma stated sourly as she pointed her AK-47 at the Doberman and added with a growl "While I kill that f*ing mutt." Harao quickly protested "You leave my baby girl alone!" as she tried to knock the weapon out of the She-Devil's hand. The main Sphinx Lineman was the first of the team to appear on the scene.

Banba unhooked Isako from the leash to make it easier for Sena to untie the two QBs, and to keep the dog away from Hiruma, who was still pretty peeved. "This better not be a gimmick of yours, F*ing Harpy," Hiruma grumbled. Harao scoffed and said "Tis no way I would even want to! I don't even know you! *Mumbling* Isako… must have seen a butterfly…. She likes chasing them…" Hiruma gave a menacing smirk and said in her cheery manipulative tone "Are you sure~" and rubs Harao's rear, making her squeak, causing her to really glare daggers at the Devilbats' quarterback, and said with venom "I'm quite certain! Now kindly remove your hand before I hurt you." Hiruma just snickered and heeded the warning. Sena was turning red from embarrassment as he thought 'Does she even know what shame is? And she's doing this in front of me, Knowing how I feel!' (Okay, the second sentence was more anger than embarrassment). Now Sena was moving to untie the two. Banba kept an eye on Hiruma, a very close eye on the Devilbat Quarterback.

~}i{~

After three LONG minutes, the two quarterbacks were as far away as possible from each other. Hiruma on the Devilbats' side of the field and Harao on the Sphinx's side of the field.

Sena told Mamori that he was going to help the Devilbat QB get Eyeshield 21 and get back on the tower, but in actuality, he was going to change into the Eyeshield 21 persona and asked Hiruma what the hell she was thinking!

~}i{~

"Don't flatter yourself chibi, I only did that so she wouldn't notice certain things," Hiruma stated flatly. Sena knew what she meant (I'm going to assume that the "Things" would be certain anatomy parts), but still…. As if reading his mind, the She-Devil stated "You really think I'd do something that desperate to hide that (Her real gender)? Especially in front of the harpy's boyfriend, who might I add is bigger and possibly stronger than Kurita." Sena couldn't help but think 'Does she have an answer for everything?' as he put the Eyeshield helmet on. Next thing Sena knew the She-Devil's face was right in front of his! That startled him. "If you win us this game I'll go on a date with you," Hiruma stated with a completely straight face.

Huh? (Wait? What?!)

"EHHH?!" Sena exclaimed. "I'm serious," Hiruma stated with that same straight face. Still, in shock, Sena stuttered out "Wait, Wait, Wait. Y-y-you're s-saying th-th-that if I win this game, you'll go a date with me?!" Hiruma answered with a flat yeah. "You really want to win this and you're using my feelings for you to achieve it," Sena said flatly, giving the She-Devil a flat look. With that manipulative smile on her face, Hiruma stated "Of course. You should know me by now." Sadly, Sena knew this. But, maybe…. This could work in Sena's favour. 'Maybe… If I take her on a date….. then maybe….' Sena thought as he practically ran towards the field.

Hiruma sighed in relief as she thought with a sinister grin 'That was easier than expected.' (…. Ummm, seriously, what just happened?)

~}i{~

The Sphinx's manager was on top of their look-out tower, feeding his team the data he's gathered. There was no way they were going to be able to stop Eyeshield 21, but Number 80, that was another story. After a good minute, Banba stated in a serious tone "Bring out Kamaguruma." Kasamatsu wasn't too sure about using a first-year in the game, but Harao folded her arms and stated calmly "Tis about time we use him in a real game. In the spring tournament semifinals… the game that we lost to *sour tone* Shinryūji… if Kamuguma had been playing then, we probably would have won." Harao distinctly remembers that team, more specifically Kongō Agon. That jerk was flirting with her IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME AND WAS COMPLETELY AWARE THAT SHE AND BANBA WERE AN ITEM! Thankfully his twin sister was less than thrilled about that and slapped him over the head, hard, much to the "Genius" dismay.

A tall Sphinx player stood up from the bench (He's in a super happy mood btw) that was actually almost as tall as Banba (Not including that tall hairstyle in the measurement) and practically shouted happily "PHEW! IT'S FINALLY MY TURN!" He made sure to avoid Isako as he walked to the field.

Taiyō Sphinx Cornerback: # 98, Kamuguma Ken (1st year).

Kamuguma practically jumped to the opposing team and got their attention by saying "You think that Taiyō's team is all about the Pyramid Line? If the senpais are the Pyramid Line…. *Very enthusiastically* THEN I'M THE CORNERBACK CHARIOT! ANCIENT EGYPT WAS THE AGE OF BATTLE VEHICLES!" Monta and Eyeshield 21 immediately thought of an army battle tank. Kamuguma tried to correct them by saying that the chariots are ancient battle vehicles.

~}i{~

With Kamuguma on the field, the Sphinx pulled ahead by 7 points and completely shut Monta down.

Now everyone was feeling the heat from the sun, well, everyone but the Sphinx (who are used to the temperature).

There was now just five minutes left in the final quarter. The Devilbats needed to think of something quick.

~}i{~

Every Devilbat player was doing their best to do their part in the final moments of the game, Monta was the only one having trouble. Especially with Kamuguma Bumping him at every attempt. Now…. Monta was having a lap in faith in himself.

~}i{~

Less than a minute left on the clock and the Devilbats were in a huddle.

"There's still 30-yards to go," Hiruma stated to her team and added, "We don't have much time left." She points to Monta and says "I'll throw a long pass to the f*ing monkey *Monta felt his heart sink*. We'll get a touchdown in one shot!" Monta's cast his eyes to the ground and said "But I've been… Completely overwhelmed by his bump…" Almost in a mocking tone, Hiruma said "Did you say "overwhelmed"? Do you even understand your own position?!" Kurita happily stated "The receiver's game… Is different from our concentrated trench warfare." Then Hiruma said with a growl "Ignore the bump! Just run like hell up the field! The whole field is your playground. Got that, Number 80?" Monta finally realized his true position.

~}i{~

As the next play progressed, and as Monta race down to the end zone, he thought 'Houjo-san when he crashes into the high wall he must be a fearless athlete.' Kamuguma bumped him, hard.

'The entire outfield… Requires an athlete who can cover it on his own.'

Monta then shouted, "I'M GOING TO MY PLAYGROUND" got to his feet and started rushing towards the end zone.

Hiruma shouted at the line to keep up the protection, which they did. The She-Devil threw the ball high.

Monta was bumped by Kamuguma's Chariot Bump, causing him to fall over. But instead of just hitting the ground, Monta rolled along the ground using the force of the bump to move him forward.

'It doesn't matter if I lose on strength. It doesn't matter if I lose it all. It's all about catching… *Monta remembering a baseball program about Houjo-san*'

Monta launched himself into the air and caught the ball, amazing everyone in the stadium! The Devilbat receiver tumbled to the ground at the end zone. Dust was spewing everywhere, no one could see a thing. Did he have the ball?

Sena/Eyeshield 21 raced towards his friend; that was when he heard Monta saying "No matter how huge my opponent… Or how fast he is… The one thing I can't be beaten on is my catching. *Smiles* It's clear to me. That thing I've got to do… From now on, and all of Japan… No, the whole world… I'LL BE THE BEST RECEIVER!" Monta was sitting in the end zone, ball in hand.

"TOUCHDOWN!"

Monta then struck his (idiotic) signature pose. But since Mamori applauded him, he'll keep using that pose.

The score was now 20-18, in favour of the Sphinx. Only 35 seconds left of the game and the Devilbats was going for the try-for-point.

~}i{~

Devilbats' Huddle.

"We're down by two points. Even if our kick goes in, we still lose," Hiruma stated in a serious tone. Kurita added, "We'll aim for a tie with a two-point conversion." With a serious look on her face, Hiruma said "A cheap trick won't work so close to the goal line. We'll push right down the centre with all we've got. It's barely three yards to the end zone. We'll flatten 'em with our strength!" Sena couldn't help but wonder if they could really flatten the Pyramid Line head-on.

~}i{~

The Sphinx's double the line for this final play. After all, this was going to be a battle of power.

~}i{~

Everyone got into their formation.

With her usual sinister grin and as she pointed at Sena/Eyeshield 21, Hiruma stated "The ball's going to you! Don't think of this as your typical run, don't zigzag from side to side." Kurita then said "If you hesitate even the slightest bit… Then the charge will lose its strength. Just run straight on through with all you've got!" With that render still on the She-Devil's face, she said "If a Devil Bat looks straight ahead… Then he'll win for sure!" Sena wondered what she was talking about.

~}i{~

Sena could feel his heart racing. 'If I win this… Then…. She'll go on a date with me!' Sena thought before he was interrupted by Kurita saying "Everyone's doing great… Back then… I would never have thought we could play this intensely against Taiyō. But now… Deimon's Line isn't just me by myself. There's five of us… We're all together!"

"HUT!"

The lineman went into action. The Devilbats pushing forward and the Sphinx blocking.

Kurita was pushing Banba back! THREE WHOLE YARDS!

Hiruma handed the ball off to Sena. The Pyramid Line stop the Devilbats' Line in their tracks.

Hiruma whispered "You can do it… Sena…" Sena heard it! And now he knew what the She-Devil meant when she said that "a Devil bat looks straight ahead"!

Sena's thoughts; Square up both shoulders… And they straight head.

Eyeshield 21 rushed forward towards the blockade.

Sena's thoughts; hold on tightly to the ball… Rushed straight through!

"You can do it with those legs!" Hiruma said.

The announcer then shouted into the mic "THERE ARE NO OPENINGS IN THE LINE! THERE'S NOWHERE TO GO!"

Sena's thoughts; a Devil bat… Look straight ahead… Straight Ahead!

Hiruma pointed forward and shouted "FLY!"

Sena leapt into the air! Soaring over everyone in the line like a soaring bat! No one in the Pyramid Line could stop Eyeshield 21! He was over all of their heads!

"TOUCHDOWN!" The ref called. The score was officially tied at 20-20!

"YA_HA!" Hiruma shouted an aiming a fire hose into the air (Not going to ask, not going to ask…). Because of the hose, there was a beautiful rainbow over the field.

~}i{~

"Should we be happy that we tied?" Yukimitsu asked Mamori, who in turn said happily "Of course! We held our own against such a strong team!" All of the Devilbats except for Hiruma were utterly happy. At least until a certain She-Devil said "You're all cheering like idiots! A tie isn't too different from losing."

Pain surge through Sena's shoulder. Monta asked if he was okay. Sena said that he was fine, then added "When I jumped headfirst… I got knocked around… Maybe I twisted it…" Hiruma was silent for a moment as she watched the running-back rubbed his shoulder. "Oi, f*ing chibi. About that "Devil Bat Dive"…" the She-Devil said getting Monta, Sena, and Kurita's attention. The gentle giant explained to Sena that that was the name of the moves that he used. Hiruma explained, as she held out her index and middle fingers (indicating the number two) "Only use it once or twice per game. And even then, only if it's a clutch point at the end of the game." Sena felt his heart filled with joy. She can about him! She really cared about him! 'Could she….' Sena thought with a smile. As the She-Devil turned away from the receiver and running-back, she said "But if we needed at the end of the game, you go for it. Don't matter too much if you die once the game is over, right?" And now that warm, fuzzy feeling in Sena's heart was completely gone as he thought 'She's too much…. Why'd I have to fall for her?'

Monta suddenly said "Hey, wait a minute! If it's a tie… Then who gets to be in the game against the Americans?" It was a good point.

There was a sudden eclipse of the sun. Sena realized that it was Banba. Harao was standing right next to him. "Deimon was in use to this field, nor the climate. The conditions were in Taiyō's favour. But you still managed a tie. That is impressive. The game against the Americans shall be yours," Banba said with a completely straight face and a serious tone. The Devilbats were in complete shock. Hiruma was a bit on the suspicious side when she said "How gracious of you. What's in it for you?" Harao folded her arms and stated "Do not flatter yourself. As Mamoru stated before, you were at a disadvantage on this field and yet you had managed to tie with us despite it. Therefore, the game is yours." (When you put it that way, it does somewhat makes sense). Banba turned to the gentle giant and said "Kurita, this time it was a tie. Both in terms of team play and in our individual performances. We'll save the showdown for the fall tournament." Kurita nodded. Harao eyed Hiruma and said in a serious tone "When next we play, you better keep your hands to yourself." Hiruma just cackled, causing Harao to raise a brow. "Just make sure you keep that damn dog away from me and you got yourself a deal, F*ing Harpy," the She-Devil stated with an evil grin. "I shall assume that asking you to stop using such vile language is out of the question," Harao stated coolly before adding with a shrug "Well, tis better than being called Cleopatra, I suppose." The two turned to walk towards their team, with Banba saying "The Taiyō Sphinx must rebuild from square one. That being the case, the American game is too soon."

Sena couldn't believe it. They were going to play against the Americans…. The running back wasn't sure if he should be utterly excited or completely terrified.

~}i{~

Hiruma told her team that they were going to Enoshima to watch the Kanto Spring Tournament Semifinal match.

The Ojo White Knights vs The Shinryūji Nagas

~}i{~

"Ano… Hiruma…." Sena asked.

"We didn't win the game, we tied, so no," Hiruma stated plainly.

Sena sighed. He should have seen that coming.

~}i{~

10th Down; Scored.

~}i{~

Okame Moment: (After the Game)

"Urg," Hiruma groaned as she peeled off her work-out bra. She was alone in the amefuto locker room and was changing into her school uniform (for boys). The one thing she hated was having to switch clothing for school from her amefuto clothes. Why? Sweaty work-out bras felt disgusting when taking them off, at least in the She-Devil's opinion. And she needed to put another workout on her sweaty chest, urrrrg, dry cloth on a wet body, Hiruma reeeeeeeeeeeeealy hated that. She was only wearing her amefuto slacks as she pulled out a towel. She needed to get the majority sweat off before she had to pull her school work-out bra on.

"Ungo?!"

Hiruma froze. The She-Devil's eyes slowly turned to the door; someone was standing right in front of the door. It wasn't Sena or Kurita.

It was Komusubi Daikichi!

Komusubi stared at Hiruma for a second. "G-g-girl!" The pint-size powerhouse uttered as blood started dripping out of his nose.

Crap!

Hiruma WAS red.

}{

"Oh My Goodness! Komusubi-kun! What happened to you?!" Mamori stated in utter shock when she saw the pint-sized powerhouse's face. He had a black eye, swollen cheek, and bloodied nose. "Tr-training!" Komusubi stated plainly. Mamori sighed and said "You got those from training? Goodness, I know you're a lineman and all, but don't push yourself too hard," Mamori said with a smile as she applied bandages on his wounds.

}{

"Oi, F*ing Chibi, F*ing Fatass," Hiruma called towards Sena and Kurita. Both walked up to the She-Devil, who told them that they were going to be training with Fatass Jr. Meaning they were training with Komusubi.

When they grouped up to train, the running back and main lineman asked what happened to the shorter teammate. Hiruma was passing by when she said in a threatening voice "You boy better not say a word or you're dead." Before walking away. "Wait, Komusubi, do you…" Sena and Kurita asked the pint-size powerhouse. His cheeks turned really red and muttered "H-H-Hiruma…. B-b-b-boobs…"

Oh Kami, he DID know Hiruma's secret. So THAT'S why his face was like that! The two now knew that the She-Devil would do worse to the pint-sized powerhouse if he said anything. "Please, don't say anything about Hiruma's secret," Kurita told Komusubi. The pint-sized powerhouse nodded and said "B-bad… if… t-tell." Sena nodded.

Bad News, Komusubi now knew about Hiruma's secret. Good news, Komusubi knew not to say anything about the "She"-Devil.

}{

At the Taiyō school.

"Mamoru… Ano, do you mind if I talk to you for a bit in private?" Harao, already wearing her school uniform, asked to the main force of the Sphinx. "Of course, Kimiko," Banba said fixing up his uniform as he left the room. The two were walking towards the amefuto locker rooms. "When I said "talk to you in private", I meant just Mamoru and me," Harao said loudly, causing the rest of the team, who were "attempting" to follow the two secretly, to jump out of their skin. When Banba turned to the team, they hightailed it.

}{

Banba closed the door and asked, "What do you want to talk about Kimiko?" Harao had a soft hue of pink on her cheeks when she said "Ano… About what happened with the Devilbats' captain…" Banba patted the female QB on the shoulder and said "Kimiko, it's fine. Isako just got a bit over-excited. I understand that and it wasn't on purpose." Harao shook her head and said "I know that. It's just… Ano… That person… is a girl…" Banba wasn't sure what his female teammate was saying. "Ano… When Isako… Tied us together… Ano…. I, ano, felt that… He is not a he…" Harao explained timidly, trying her best to explain what she was thinking. That was when it clicked for the captain of the Taiyō Sphinx. "Wait, you mean that…." Banba stated in utter amazement as Harao nodded. The Lineman rubbed the back of his head and said: "I certainly didn't see that coming." The QB nodded yet again and said "She hides her gender. I know not if her teammates are aware of it or not." "With the way she swears and acts, I doubt they do, but maybe one or two might know though," Banba said folding his hands together and resting them on his legs.

Things were quiet for a moment. "I think she is her," Harao suddenly said with serious eyes. Banba looked at his girlfriend and asked if she was sure about that and then added: "You don't really have any proof that that Hiruma person IS your childhood friend." Harao nodded in agreement and said "I know, but the way she laughed or cackled…. It was identical to HER'S." Banba placed a hand on her shoulder and said "Listen Kimiko, I know you want to ask if she is HER, but I think you should just observe for now. You know, keep an eye on her until you have some solid proof that she is indeed your old friend." "You are correct Mamoru when the Devilbats have their match against the Americans we can use that opportunity to observe her." Banba wrapped his arm around Harao and she rested her head on his's chest and said: "If she is her, I hope the swearing is an act and that she apologizes for those actions she did when we were tied together." Banba agreed with a small smile and then said "I certainly hope so, but let's keep that a secret, okay. I'm sure she has a reason to hide her true gender." Harao agreed.

Omake Moment: End

~}i{~

1) I just made up the soap brand for this story.

~}i{~


	11. 11th Down: Dragons and the Knights

~}i{~

"Talking or Quotations"

'Thinking'

(Author making a comment)

~}i{~

11th Down: Dragons and the Knights

~}i{~

The monorail to Enoshima was interesting, to say the least. The Devilbats had to share a cart with the Sphinx, each team kept to their side of the cart. (Talk about awkward).

Harao kept Isako, who was out of her Egyptian outfit, on a leash by her feet and Banba sat next to her. Kasamatsu was sitting across from the delinquent trio and was glaring at them as they glared at him. Kamaguruma was sitting on the last seat of the cart, as far away from Isako as he could.

Mamori did try to alieve the tension, but it was to no avail.

Sena suddenly stood up and walked until he was in front of the female Sphinx player and ask "Ano… Do you really like Amefuto?" Harao blinked. Okay, she's been asked why she plays a dangerous sport, but she's never been asked if she liked it. "I don't just like amefuto, I love it. Tis one of the reasons I play," Harao said with a smile. Sena questioned "One reason? What's the other reason?" Looking out the window, Harao said "The other… is to find an old friend that I haven't seen in a long time. I know she too loves amefuto." "Really?" was all Sena could say, but he couldn't help but wonder who that person was.

The train made a sharp turn, causing Sena to fall forward. The next thing the hidden running-back knew, he felt a number of killing auras from the Sphinx's side. He didn't understand why until he realized he landed on Harao. Both were redder than roses when Sena jumped off of the female QB and hit his head on the metal pole. Mamori quickly used the first aid kit.

Banba looked at the scene before him and said: "While I do admire your bandage work, miss, I must point out that he only hit his head." Yup, Sena was wrapped like a stiff mummy, curtesy of Mamori, again. (Ummmmm, I'm not sure what to say about this but Over-Zealous).

"Mui muan't mueave!" Sena muffled out through the bandages covering his mouth, he couldn't move. Monta asked what Sena said. The hidden running-back repeated what he said in more of a panic and tried to move, but couldn't. Monta still couldn't understand what he was saying. Hiruma noticed that Sena was turning blue and said "Oi F*ing Monkey, the F*ing Chibi's suffocating." Now the receiver was panicking as he tried to undo the wrappings on Sena. The bandages were too tight to do anything. Harao and Banba tried to help, but Mamori did too good of a job of wrapping.

"Kurita hold the F*ing Manager for a minute," Hiruma ordered as she pulled out her pocket knife. Kurita knew immediately that the She-Devil meant business when she didn't use the "nickname" she gave him. So the gentle giant grabbed ahold of Mamori's arms as Hiruma held the knife near one of the bandages on the suffocating Sena. The honour student was sooooooo not very pleased with this.

With what looked like one fluid stroke of her hand, the knife cute all of the bandages off. Swirls were in Sena's eyes as he fell back, right onto Harao's brea-, err, chest. The rest of the Sphinx team was enraged; Banba, on the other hand, was surprisingly calm. The Sphinx's QB waved a hand in front of Sena's face, the freshman made no indication he saw. "He has indeed lost consciousness," Harao stated plainly. Banba added, "A person loses consciousness if they are unable to breathe for roughly two minutes."

Hiruma looked at the lineman and said that that was true, looked at her wristwatch to confirm that Sena was without oxygen for two whole minutes, turned to Mamori, and added with a hiss "Next time, F*ing Manager, ONLY APPLY THE F*ING BANDAGES TO THE F*ING WOUNDED AREA. I so DON'T have to look for a new f*ing secretary before the f*ing amefuto game against the f*ing Americans." The only thing Mamori did was squeaked.

(Wow… has anyone ever heard the F-Word used that much in a sentence?)

Banba laid the unconscious teen on the seats, just because the freshman wasn't aware of landing on his girlfriend's chest doesn't mean he's going to let him stay there. The head lineman of the Sphinx saw that Harao was doing some hand gestures to him. 'The Devilbat QB seems more annoyed about the fact the secretary was nearly strangled' She signed. Banba signed back 'Seems like it'. The two returned to their seats as Hiruma finally calmed down.

Isako licked Sena's face, making sure he was okay. "Here, Isako," Harao said and the Doberman trotted over.

~}i{~

When the Devilbats and the Sphinx got to the stadium, Sena and Monta were nearly run over by Torakichi in a wheelchair. Sakuraba was trying his best to keep up with the kid. "He seems to be doing well," Sena said as he watched them whizz by.

After everyone got to their seats, Sena noticed that there were more serious onlookers in this Oujo game. Oh, right they were playing against the Naga….. 'But that also means!' Sena thought when he remembered that Kongō Usagi was the QB of the purple and gold team. 'But she was in the hospital…..' the hidden running-back thought to himself, before thinking 'But she also seemed to be too healthy to be in the hospital… Maybe Hiruma knows why she was in the hospital.'

~}i{~

A couple of minutes later...

Sena noticed that nearly all of the Shinryūji Nagas were sitting in a meditative state, in a row, in their school uniforms (which look like traditional monk clothing). The hidden running-back asked Kurita what they were doing. The main lineman sighed and stated sadly "It's a tradition of the Shinryūji Linemen... They aspire to spiritual unity before the game..."

~}i{~

Yamabushi suddenly said "Oi, Usagi-chan." The only person on the Naga side of the field wearing the red and white minko clothing looked at the head lineman. "Try to disturb us," the adult-looking senpai said, not even opening his eyes. Usagi closed her eyes for a few seconds, brought her right hand to her mouth, and placed her thumb and middle finger inside her mouth.

TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

The whistle was soooo loud and so sudden, it startled EVERYONE in the stadium. Well, everyone but the Naga linemen. Coach Sendōda muttered an impressive "Not bad." Ikkyu, the Naga's Cornerback (and the one that looks kind of like Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z), had an excited grin on his face when he said (equally excitedly) "Amazing! The monks of the line are awesome!" The cornerback then pointed at the opposing team and shouted happily "Look! The Oujo guys are scared! Look at the frightened manager girl (the Oujo manager), oh, she's cute! Oi, the girl next to her is cute too (in this scene, the girl next to the Oujo Manager is Takami Ichigo)!"

This snapped the Naga line out of their meditative state to eagerly look at the two girls.

Sendōda sighed and said out loud "Perhaps I should have made more of an effort to recruit more girls to the school." This got the Naga line's attention.

The linemen of the Shinryūji started to pummel Ikkyu to the ground for disturbing their meditative state, or rather he made them ogle the girls. Usagi brought a hand to her mouth and started giggling. This made the linemen stop what they were doing. "Ano, Usagi-chan, what was funny?" Yamabushi asked the Naga QB, who said with a giggle "Nothing, it's just *chuckles* the way you guys build your teamwork is a bit silly." The Nagas couldn't help but blush at the pure innocence of Usagi.

'If only Agon wasn't her twin brother,' all of the Nagas thought at the same time.

~}i{~

"Hiruma... Why did we have to come to watch the Shinryūji game?" Kurita asked with a heavy sigh. Sena wondered why the main lineman was so down. Hiruma pointed to Kurita and stated plainly "He use to go to Shinryūji." "WHAT?!" the other Devilbats exclaimed in utter shock. Kurita quickly said that he was only there for a little while and didn't really play on the best team in the Kanto region.

"Best team?" Monta question before adding "I thought Oujo was the best?" Mamori pulled out a stack of very poorly drawn picture cards that a toddler could draw better then. Sena stated that drawing was Mamori's only weakness in school. The honour student explained to the Devilbats the last time the Nagas and the White Knights faced off.

**Flashback: Last Year's Game**

"With five minutes left... Oujo's in the lead at 16-3," the sportscaster announced.

On the Oujo's side of the field... Coach Shoji was telling his team to keep up the attack and saying that this will be Oujo's era.

On the Shinryūji's side of the field... Coach Sendōda said "I had wanted to save them until the fall... Usagi... Agon... Get out there!" Two of the Nagas stood up from the benches.

Agon (short brown hair at this time) adjusted his wristbands as Usagi snapped her helmet into place. Glancing at the female amefuto player, Agon stated: "If you start feeling fatigued, you sit right back down and eat something, okay Bun~chan~?" Usagi scoffed and said, "You just make sure you take this match seriously, Baka Otōto (1)."

On the Oujo's side of the field... Coach Shoji asked Takami who the two are. Looking at the datasheet, the female QB stated "The Kongō twins... A brother-sister duo... First-years. They've only been playing on the team for two months?" She couldn't help but wonder why the Naga coach was sending them in the game. Ōtawara bellowed a laugh as he said "What? Since they're losing are they giving the first-years some experience?!" Coach Shoji had the same suspicions as Takami Ichigo.

**End Flashback**

Mamori showed the Devilbats the results of that game. 16-17 in favour of the Shinryūji!

Monta was shocked at that as Sena said in utter bewilderment "With only five minutes left..." Kurita and Hiruma watched the field with stern eyes. They wanted to see how one certain Naga player was doing.

~}i{~

The photographer for the Amefuto Monthly Magazine told Kumabukuro "Shinryūji's gonna blow 'em out, right?" The afro man said as he wrote in a notebook "Right. As long as they've got Agon..." The manager suddenly said "Huh? Where's Agon?"

The Shinryūji Naga Genius Ace was missing!

~}i{~

All of the Nagas were gathered in their amefuto uniforms. Usagi was on her cellphone when she shouted "AGON YOU BAKA! GET HERE NOW! THE GAME'S GOING TO START!"

~}i{~

In another location...

Agon pulled a shirt over his head and said into his cellphone "Don't yell in my ear, Bun~chan." "SHOUTING AT YOU SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE YOU LISTEN! BAKA OTŌTO!" Usagi shouted through the cellphone. The dreadlocks teen pulled the phone away from his ear when his sister shouted in the phone.

"Alright, alright! I hear you. I'm on my way. But, I'm telling you now, I had a long night," Agon stated with a yawn.

He was at some girl's house.

~}i{~

With the Nagas...

Usagi was currently annoyed with her younger twin's behaviour. Ikkyu told his senpais "Agon's at it again..." The upperclassmen of Shinryūji were completely pissed. Yamabushi snatched the cellphone from Usagi and shouted into the phone "AGON, WHY YOU... I'M JEAL- I MEAN, THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!"

~}i{~

With Agon...

Agon said over the phone as he left the house "It should be an easy victory against this year's Oujo, even without me." In almost an evil tone, Agon said "When I get there... If you're losing, or if any of you guys are ogling my cute sister, I'll kill you. Got it?"

~}i{~

Yamabushi shuttered at that. He wasn't sure what frightened him more, losing the game before the genius gets here or Agon's sister-complex... Probably the latter, in all honesty...

"Yamabushi-senpai? Are you ok?" Usagi asked the head lineman. Yamabushi heard Agon hang up and said: "Agon's just being Agon..." Usagi sighed and thought 'You'd think I'd be used to it...'

~}i{~

If anyone blinked, then they missed 3/4 of the match (Aka, the end of the 3rd quarter).

The game was 28-0, in favour of the Shinryūji! The game was practically one-sided!

Through the whole game, Sena wondered why Hiruma didn't force him to get into his Eyeshield 21 persona. 'I mean with all the cameras and spectators, this would've been a perfect opportunity to capitalize on some publicity for the Devilbats. So, why hasn't Hiruma-chan ordered me to wear THAT get-up yet?' Sena thought with an eye on the She-Devil in question, who was completely focused on the game.

The sunlight was hitting Hiruma's face at just the right angle again. Sena blushed and thought 'She REALLY looks cute like that.' He knew she would kill him if she knew he was thinking those kinds of thoughts.

Monta somehow noticed the red dusting his friend's cheeks.

~}i{~

Agon walked into the arena, saw the scoreboard, and said "Aww, well, well! Looks like I won't have to kill the senpais after all. I hope they're also heeding my warning about ogling Bun~chan." Agon stomach started to rumble, right... He hasn't eaten yet.

The Nagas broke through the Oujo's line and tackled Takami, but she managed to throw the ball towards Sakuraba before she hit the ground.

Just as Sakuraba was about to catch the ball, a blur swooped by and stole the ball in midair. "It's Ikkyu!" the blond receiver and the crowd shouted when they realized who it was. The Naga cornerback stole the ball yet again.

~}i{~

"He's really fast, that cornerback," Monta said in a surprised tone. Hiruma was on her laptop, reading through some data when she said: "He does the 40 in 4.9 seconds..." "Isn't that about the same as Ishimaru?" Sena asked out loud, Monta added: "Well then, that's not really that fast is it?" Ishimaru, sitting a few seats away, mumbled: "But, I AM known as the star of the Track Team..."

Hiruma hit Sena and Monta on the head with her bazooka (that came out of nowhere...) and snapped "Let me finish my sentence, you f*ing chibis! He does the 40 in 4.9 seconds, RUNNING BACKWARDS!"

Now Sena and Monta could see that Ikkyu WAS indeed running backwards, in front of Sakuraba as the Oujo followed his route for the defence.

"Running backwards is one of the crucial skills of a cornerback. So you can keep an eye on your opponent's moves," Hiruma explained as Sena and Monta watched on in amazement. Ikkyu followed Sakuraba as he made a sharp turn. The She-Devil then said, "Hosokawa Ikkyu is known as the Backward Running Master, the best cornerback in the Kanto area!" 'The best...' Monta thought as he continued to watch the match.

~}i{~

"Is Sakuraba worn out?" Coach Shoji asked Takami when he saw the receiver sitting on the bench, out of breath. Ichigo looked as Sakuraba and said "Well, he WAS just released from the hospital. Really, I thought he'd just be watching today." Rubbing his index finger on his chin, Coach Shoji said to no one particular "He can't possibly be at his best, can he..." Takami wondered what he meant.

~}i{~

Shin just used his Spear Tackle on the Naga running back (sorry, don't know his name. He's the bald, effeminate, lipstick-wearing Naga player), stopping him dead in his tracks.

Usagi helped her teammate to his feet as he said "I can't believe it! Shin's even stronger than last year! I think he broke one of my ribs!" Usagi glanced at the Ace Lineman of the White Knights, who was currently glaring at the Nagas, and said "As I thought. We can't just expect an easy win with him. We should throw a pass to where Shin isn't playing."

~}i{~

The next play for the Nagas went smoothly. Usagi was able to throw a flawless pass to a Naga receiver, who was running along the side of the field.

Takami watched the field and said to Coach Shoji "Usagi's a good quarterback. She always knows where all of her players are. Her field of vision is amazing. But... Should she really be playing right now with her health?" Sena and Monta didn't miss a word.

"Hiruma-" Sena started to ask the She-Devil when she snapped "After the match." "Eh?" both Sena and Monta asked at the same time. "You were going to ask about the little rabbit's health, right?" Hiruma stated rather than asked. The two shorties nodded. "I'll tell you after the game," the She-Devil stated, plain and simple. Sena couldn't help but wonder why Hiruma was acting, well... Like a normal person at a game... It felt really weird for Sena and Monta.

Kurita knew EXACTLY why Hiruma was acting this way.

~}i{~

The game was now 35-3, in favour of the Shinryūji!

"Coach," Shin said, getting the whole team's attention. "There is only one weapon left to use to turn this game around," the ace lineman stated before adding "Please allow me, to use the Ballista."

Hiruma, Sena, and Monta heard.

Coach Shoji immediately said "No! That's an experiment. It can't be used in a real game." "But it IS possible," Shin stated firmly. The Oujo coach stated that the lineman was the only one who thinks so. That was when Takami said to Shin "The Ballista... It's a revolution in Oujo's game plan. But we haven't practised it enough! So we're not ready to use it!" Shin clenched his fist and said, "I understand..."

~}i{~

Right before the next play, Ikkyu's competitive spirit got the best of him and he asked Usagi to throw the ball through the middle, so he could face off against Shin. At first, the Naga QB was against the idea, but Ikkyu stated that Shin couldn't beat him in the air. Usagi sighed and said "Alright, just this once! But you'd better be ready to catch!" "I will!" Ikkyu said with a smile. He wanted to impress Usagi, and the other Nagas knew it.

When the next play happened, Shin tackled Ikkyu to the ground before he had a chance to see where the ball would land.

"Incomplete Pass!" the referee shouted as soon as the ball hit the ground.

"Somehow I knew that would happen..." Usagi muttered with a sigh. The rest of the Naga players had mixed feelings about the play. They weren't sure if they should feel sorry for the cornerback or thinking that it served him right.

Agon saw this and wondered what the heck the cornerback was thinking.

Takami patted Shin on the shoulder and said with a smile "Good tackle." The lineman blushed slightly and thanked her.

~}i{~

The game ended 41-3, the Shinryūji Nagas won by a landslide.

~}i{~

As the Devilbats walked out of the stadium, Sena asked Hiruma about what Takami meant about Kongō Usagi's health.

After a moment of silents, and of Hiruma walking at the head of and keeping her back to the group, the She-Devil finally saying "She doesn't have long to live."

Mamori pouted and said, "Hiruma, stop being mean and spreading horrible rumours about her." "Ano, actually... That is the truth, Usagi IS sick, some kind of illness in the blood (2)," Kurita said sadly before adding "She really shouldn't be playing Amefuto with that kind of illness, but..." Yukimitsu quickly asked, "Wait if she's sick then how is she still playing?"

"She's got some f*ing willpower for one," Hiruma stated as a pair of birds flew by, but then added in almost a sad tone "But, even that has limits when your body's slowly shutting down on ya," Sena asked the She-Devil if she knew Usagi at one point. "It's kind of an open secret in the high school Amefuto community," Hiruma said sourly. "Unfortunately," Kurita agreed and added, "Some of the more 'Unsavory' teams tried using that to their advantage." "Yeah. The Dokubari Scorpions tried to 'Accidentally' cause the rabbit to have a blood episode (3) early in the year. F*ing dreads found out, so you can imagine what happened next to that team," Hiruma stated with a straight face.

"Dreads? You mean that Agon guy, Usagi's twin brother?" Sena asked, for some reason he felt like he met that Agon guy before but doesn't remember where. "Yeah, that guy's considered a genius with a gift that only appears every hundred years or so, but another thing he's famous for is his f*ing sister-complex. Pretty sure she's never had anyone ask her out because of that f*ing dreads," Hiruma said with a snicker.

"Don't laugh, he's probably worried about his poor sick sister playing a dangerous game... Why does he let her anyway?" Mamori said in a worried tone. Hiruma stopped walking and said, "Probably because he knows that she's not going to live long, and to make her happy in that time span and that she really loves Amefuto." "But, why? Why play when she's that sick? Why play a sport were everyone's bigger than you?" Mamori nearly shouted at Hiruma.

"She's one of the best, hardworking, female high school quarterbacks in Japan," Hiruma said calmly, then added "And she's willing to fight her own genius twin to do so even when she's as sick as she is. Try wrapping that around your little brain, f*ing manager," and walked ahead of the paralyzed group. To the other Devilbats, it sounded like Mamori hit another sour note. Only, Kurita, Sena, and Komusubi seemed to KNOW the reason why.

Sena ran ahead of the group to catch up to Hiruma.

~}i{~

11th Down, Scored.

~}i{~

Omake:

"Hiruma-chan..."

The She-Devil turned to glare at whoever DARED to call her -chan, but when she saw that it was just Sena, she stopped glaring. "You're lucky it's just us, f*ing chibi," Hiruma spat. Sena ignored the snapping tone and asked "Hiruma-chan, are you okay? You seem really upset..."

"You're imagining things," Hiruma said a little too quickly. Sena quickly looked around, seeing that he and the She-Devil were the only ones in the area. The hidden running back took out all of the courage he had in his reserve and took Hiruma's hand into his own as the two walked down the streets.

The She-Devil was utterly stunned by this.

"I know you're upset over what Mamori-neechan said," Sena said calmly as he tightened his grip on the She-Devil's hand, then he said, "You know just how hard it is for a girl to play Amefuto, and I'm going to assume that you know that Usagi had it worse than you because of her illness."

Hiruma glance to the side as Sena continued "I know you pretend to be a guy for some reason and you refuse to tell the rest of the team that fact, but maybe... You should at least try to explain to them why the fact that the other female Amefuto players seem to be a sour topic for you, it doesn't have to be YOUR real reason but you can make something up that can be close. I mean we ARE a team, right?"

"Baka chibi, you really think explaining THAT kinda thing is that easy," Hiruma stated as calmly as possible. "I didn't think it was, but you're the fearsome captain of the Devilbats. I don't think the other will think any less of you if they find out you're a girl, in fact, I think they might fear you even more," Sena said softly.

After walking in silence, still holding hands, Hiruma finally said "I know, but... I have to make sure my secret stays a secret as long as I can." Sena knew he wanted to know why, but he knew the She-Devil wouldn't tell him, so he asked instead "Can you at least tell me why you seem to admire Kongō Usagi a bit? Since you never seem to admire anything but your firearms collection."

Hiruma explained, "I saw Usagi go down in a game last year because of her illness, not the game against Oujo but a demonstration game afterwards." Sena knew the She-Devil was serious. After all, she didn't call the Naga QB rabbit.

Hiruma continued "She was coughing up blood everywhere, it got so bad that she could barely breathe. The refs had to call an ambulance. Even when all that blood was dripping out of her nose and mouth AND her twin telling her to say still, she still wanted to continue playing the game. They only reason the ambulance crew could take her away was that she passed out due to blood loss." Sena was stunned when he said "She still wanted to play? Even in that condition?" The She-Devil nodded and said sadly "Yeah, she had to be in a lota pain during that episode. I had to admit, her willpower is second to none and she's a strong person in general. But, she had to stay in the hospital for a solid month afterwards."

"Hiruma-chan... Do you actually feel sorry for her?" Sena couldn't help but ask. After all, the way she was talking made it sounds like she cared for the other female QB.

"In a way, I'm kinda jealous that Usagi and the other gals can play Amefuto so openly," Hiruma said with a sad smile. Sena tightened his grip on the She-Devil's hand and said: "You play." With an actual smile, Hiruma said: "You're right, Sena."

'She said my name! My actual name!' Sena thought giddily.

}{

Currently, Mamori and the other Devilbats were trying to figure out why Hiruma seemed bitter about the topic. Kurita and Komusubi were not participating.

"Maybe, Hiruma..." Mamori said seriously. Kurita and Komusubi started sweating. Did the honour student finally realize that Hiruma was a girl? Mamori then said happily "Has a thing for girls in amefuto uniforms." Kurita should really stop worrying about the auburn-haired girl finding out about THAT.

"I'ma not so sure about that," Monta stated as he folded his arms. He had a sneaking suspicion about the reason why Hiruma was a bit snappy.

~}i{~

1) Otōto is Japanese for Younger Brother, sometimes little brother. Usagi IS the older twin while Agon is the younger twin, so Usagi can call Agon Otōto.

2) Before anyone asks, the illness Usagi has isn't AIDS or HIVES. I'm not going to make this complicated or use scientific terminology, this illness was just made up for this fanfiction (but if there is a real-life illness like this, then it's just pure coincidence) so... The illness that Usagi has is basically slowly attacking her own body from the inside out through the blood, it has some of the same symptoms of anaemia and is sometimes mistaken as it, but it causes a person to expel blood from the nose and mouth when the person doesn't eat enough, is really stressed, or gets really fatigued, this illness can also cause hospitalization and (rarely) cause one to have heart attacks, and people who have this illness don't live very long.

3) What Hiruma means is, that the Scorpions were trying stress or fatigue Usagi out enough to cause blood to expel out of her nose and mouth (amefuto players (high schoolers anyway) aren't allowed to play on the field when they are bleeding).

~}i{~


End file.
